


(When Will My Life) Begin

by Kiminiren



Series: (When Will My Life) [1]
Category: EXO (Band), Laboum (Band), Red Velvet (K-pop Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Violence, Character Death, Eventual Romance, F/M, General Min Yoongi | Suga, Inspired by Mulan (1998), Inspired by Tangled (2010), Kidnapping, King Kim Namjoon | RM, Lieutenant General Jeon Jungkook, Magic, Major Character Injury, Mulan Park Sooyoung | Joy, Queen Ahn Solbin, Rapunzel Kim Taehyung | V, Shan-Yu Park Chanyeol, Single Parent Kim Seokjin | Jin, Soldier Jung Hoseok | J-Hope, Thief Bae Joohyun | Irene, Thief Kang Seulgi, soldier Park Jimin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-07-04 10:26:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 36,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15839358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiminiren/pseuds/Kiminiren
Summary: Maybe when I'm a little older...  Maybe then, that's when my life will begin.ORA Tangled / Mulan AU in which a naive, long-haired Taehyung lives in a safe bubble of a tower until a runaway thief unexpectedly comes along and pops it.





	1. Intro

 

 

 

**Introduction of the Characters**

* * *

Jin, age unknown

Taehyung's father

 

Taehyung, 18

Long-haired teen waiting to explore the outside of his tower

(Just imagine him with hair similar to Fire era, and _super_ long)

 

Sooyoung, 19

Runaway thief

 

Seulgi, 26

Thief

 

Joohyun, 28

Thief

 

Queen Solbin, 38

Taehyung's biological mother

 

King Namjoon, 46

Taehyung's biological father

 

Jungkook, 25

Lieutenant General of the Kingdom's army

 

Chan, 36

Ruthless leader of The Sevens

 

Jimin, 21

Soldier in the Kingdom's army

 

Hoseok, 22

Soldier in the Kingdom's army

 

  __

Yoongi, 49

General of the Kingdom's army

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

 

 

 

 

**PART I : ONLY HALFWAY TO IT**

 

"Taehyungie, I'm home!" Jin announces as he lifts himself over the ledge in front of the doorway, pulling up a few boxes with him in the process.  "You won't believe what I scored at the market today, you are going to _love_ this—"

 

Taehyung barely notices his father open the door to their home.  He absently hums, he's too preoccupied trying his best to copy a painting he found in one of the books he was reading today.  

 

Seven-year-old Taehyung is too advanced in reading for his age, but what can he say?  He has nothing to do but read books all day.  

 

He's missing one color to finish the painting. 

 

"Why do I never have yellow?" Taehyung mutters to himself.  He looks over at the wall covered in suns and sunsets and sunrises of all different shapes and sizes.  Well, that answers his question.  

 

Taehyung flips through another book about colors until he finds what he needs.  He grabs for a tube of red paint and another filled with green.  He experimentally squeezes a few drops of paint from both tubes onto a small saucer and he grabs a new brush to mix them together. 

 

A wide smile appears on Taehyung's face when the two colors gradually turn to yellow underneath the dark bristles.  

 

A breeze rolls into the room and Taehyung turns his head against the wind, stilling his hand on the half-finished canvas.   _Daddy must have left the door open to put away the groceries_ , he thinks.  

 

Taehyung knows what a sunny day looks like, he's seen it in plenty of random books and he has even seen it through the window hovering over the kitchen sink, but this is different.  The green on the trees is way more vibrant than any of the paint his father brings him from the market.  

 

He gently places his paintbrush on the easel and fondly gazes out to the unknown.  The leaves dance in the wind and Taehyung swears their movements are beckoning him to look closer.  

 

"Look at the world, so close, and I'm only halfway to it," Taehyung quietly says as he steadily walks towards the open door.  His small hand reaches for the handle and his little bare toes can almost feel the unfiltered sun rays shining down through the opening of the door—  

 

"Taehyung, step away from that door!"

 

Taehyung quickly turns on his heel to find his father jogging towards him.  "The door was left open and I was just—"  

 

"Trying to close it?" Jin heavily breathes with a raised eyebrow, finishing his son's sentence.

 

Taehyung slowly nods his head.  His little heart is almost beating out of his chest.  His father rarely yells at him, only on the very seldom occasion when Taehyung tries to venture outside.  

 

Jin stares at his son for a moment before he lets down his guard with a sigh.  A smile laces his lips as kneels down before Taehyung.  "C'mere," he motions.

 

Taehyung gladly runs into his father's embrace knowing that he isn’t upset with him anymore, but the inquisitive side of Taehyung still has to ask, "Are you mad at me?"

 

Jin gives him a firm hug before he pulls back to look into his son in the eyes.  "No, Taehyungie, I'm not mad at you.  I'm just worried for your safety, is all," he says, picking a dried piece of paint from Taehyung's red hair.  "You know just beyond that door, is a ledge.  I don't want you getting too close and accidentally falling off, and you don't want that, do you?"  

 

Taehyung shakes his head. 

 

All of his being wants to see what's beyond the door, but he is deathly terrified of the ledge.  He has never seen what is below it, but he trusts his father when he says it is a long way down.  

 

Jin stands to his feet with a bit of trouble because of his age, makes his way over to the door and shuts it, and turns the lock before he faces Taehyung again. 

 

"I got you some more paint today.  You mentioned you were running out of yellow," he says as he makes his way to the kitchen counter, pulling out a tube of yellow paint from his bag.  "I managed to snag the last one, but I had to fight a hundred men for this!"  

 

"No way!" Taehyung giggles.  "You didn't fight all of those men!"  

 

"Yes, way!" Jin playfully counters.  "I had to throw my money at the merchant before a hundred _more_ men tried to fight me!" his father loudly says as he places the rest of Taehyung's new paint on the shelf.  "I ran all the way back here so I wouldn't get caught!"  

 

Taehyung is young so he believes every story his father tells him.  He wants to be as strong as him one day. 

 

"I guess paint is really in demand these days," Taehyung remarks with a bright smile.  "Thank you for the paint, daddy."  

 

"You are very welcome, son."  

 

Taehyung really gets a good look at his father now since he returned home.  His father looks a little more winded doing tasks around the house than usual lately.  He looks tired and his posture is a little hunched over. 

 

"Do you want me to sing to you?  Your hair is turning grey," he politely says.  

 

Jin deeply chuckles, "Yes, please sing to me, Taehyung.  These wrinkles don't suit me."  

 

Taehyung grabs his father's hand and leads him to sit in a cushioned chair on the other side of the room.  Once his father is comfortably seated, Taehyung runs over to the fireplace and throws a lit match onto the wood.  He runs up the spiral staircase to his room and grabs a brush from his dresser before he returns to his father downstairs.  

 

Taehyung makes himself at home as sits between his father's ankles and handing the brush behind his back once he's settled.  

 

Jin undoes the knot holding Taehyung's hair up, letting it hang over his lap before he begins to carefully brush through it.  "Your hair is getting so long, Taehyung.  I saw it was almost at your feet when you were combing it last night."  

 

"I know," Taehyung agrees.  "I had to tie it up so it wouldn’t touch the floor earlier today.  A rat could have crawled into my hair and I wouldn't have known!"  

 

Jin laughs at that.  "I'll have to get you some hair ties the next time I go to the market, how does that sound?"  

 

Taehyung hums and leans forward to rest his elbows on his knees as he gazes into the flame lighting the fireplace.  "Tresses gleam and glow," he steadily sings. 

 

He doesn't know how many times he has sang this song for his father, but he knows he will never forget it. 

 

"...Let you power shine."

 

Taehyung became aware of his hair not too long ago.  He would see pictures of boys with short hair in the books his father would read to him.  He used to always question why his hair was longer than theirs and why his father would never cut his hair.  

 

He continues to sing the lullaby as his red roots catch with a pink fire.  The fire licks down his neck, illuminating a soft light along either side of his jaw before it travels down his back and calmly lights up the room.  

 

Jin replaced his doubts by saying that Taehyung's hair carries a special kind of magic, a kind of magic that only Taehyung possesses.  He can reverse the signs of aging and conjure a youthful appearance for anyone while he sang to them. 

 

Taehyung used to be so scared of what his hair could do, but his father encouraged him to embrace his gift.  

 

The motion of the brush against his scalp lulls Taehyung into the next line of the song.  "Make the time rewind," and he can already feel his father's hand become steadier with the brush.  "Bring back the youth I've lost…"  

 

"The youth I've lost," Jin finishes with him, his voice no longer laden with a gravelly undertone to it.  

 

Taehyung turns around and sees a younger version of his father sitting in the chair before him.  He smiles and jumps into Jin's lap, Jin quickly catching him and holding Taehyung with loving arms.  

 

"I like you like this, daddy," he says, cupping his father's face.  He doesn't mind the wrinkles and the grey hair, Taehyung just wants to keep his father with him for as long as possible.  

 

"So do I," Jin agrees with a grin.  "How about I start on dinner, and you go wash up, hm?  You got a little paint on you."   

 

 

 

 

 

Taehyung lies in bed that night with a full stomach and a fuzzy feeling running to his toes.  He looks through the tiny stained glass window and sighs, wondering when he'll get the chance to explore what is beyond these four walls. 

 

He knows there is safety and love and protection within these walls, but the world can't be as scary as he makes himself believe.  

 

 _Maybe when I'm a little older_ , Taehyung wonders, _I'll ask daddy if I can go outside.  Maybe then, that's when my life will begin._

 

Taehyung rolls over until he's no longer facing the window, but instead facing a candle dimly lighting that side of his room, and sinks himself deeper into his soft sheets as he closes his eyes to sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

An eighteen-year-old Taehyung rolls over in bed with a loud yawn.  

 

"Taehyung, I'm going to work now!  I'm running late," Jin calls from downstairs.  "Oh, and happy birthday, son!  I left some food on your nightstand!"  

 

Taehyung looks to his right and he is met with a huge breakfast plate and a small cake covered in strawberries. 

 

"Thanks, dad!" Taehyung yells as he sits up.  He immediately digs in, careful not to spill any food on his bed because his father would literally pop a vein.  

 

"And don't forget to mop today!  You got paint on the floor near the fireplace again, don't think I didn't see it," Jin says before he closes the door.

 

Taehyung winces at the memory of him not cleaning up well after himself the previous night.  An idea struck him right after dinner and he had to bring it to life on canvas.  He _might_ have been a little too impulsive while he was painting and he _might_ have gotten a little _~~a lot~~_ of paint on the floor and tried to cover it up with a blanket as a reminder for him to clean his mess the next morning.

 

Taehyung stretches and licks the icing off his fingers after he finishes his feast before he climbs out of bed.  He walks over to his closet and grabs the first articles of clothing he sees.  He has now started borrowing ~~_stealing_~~ clothes from his father's closet ever since he went through his second growth spurt a few months ago. 

 

He tugs on one of his father's button-ups and pulls on a pair of dark trousers.  The trousers are flooding and the shirt is a little long, but he doesn't mind.  Taehyung tucks the shirt into his trousers and rolls up his pant legs as he shuffles over to his freestanding mirror. 

 

He turns and moves his body every which way in the reflection and sighs because he's expecting something to be different now that he's eighteen, but he looks the same as he did yesterday. 

 

Taehyung glances over his shoulder at the pile of red hair running down his back and lying in a big pile on his bed.  Maybe his hair is half an inch longer, he doesn't really know, and he's not looking forward to brushing out the tangles today.  

 

He looks over at the clock on the wall.  He needs to get the day started. 

 

"Looks like the usual," Taehyung says as reads his father's chore list for the day. 

 

"Sweep until the floor's all clean, check," he puts away the broom and he heads downstairs, opening the curtains to let the morning light in. 

 

"Mop, do laundry, and dust, check," Taehyung huffs as he hangs the mop to dry in the corner of the living room.  He looks at the clock.  He did all his chores for today and it's only fifteen after seven.

 

Taehyung lazily runs his fingers over the books in his little makeshift library.  He can definitely re-read all of these since he has ample time to spare. 

 

Once he's bored of reading the book he read last week, he flops on down on the couch and stares at the ceiling. 

 

"Maybe I'll paint the walls some more?  I'm sure there's still room somewhere to paint something," he wonders aloud as he gets up to pull his painting kit from the storage cabinet.  He climbs a ladder to paint on a small blank spot on the wall.  He barely has any room left on the walls to paint in his home.

 

When Taehyung is done painting a tiny sun on the wall, shuffles up to his room to find something else to do.  He spots his hairbrush lying on the dresser and picks it up, dreading the hours it takes to brush his hair.

 

Taehyung is sitting on top of the kitchen counter when gets to last few inches of hair.  His arm hurts from the repetitive motion of brushing.  He gazes at his long hair limply lying around the living room until it winds itself all the way up the steps and back down into the kitchen.  He feels a little sad.

 

It's always the same routine every day. 

 

"I'm always stuck in the same place," Taehyung says distantly to himself as he sets his brush down and hops off the counter.  "When will my life really begin?"

 

Taehyung's eyes cast to the other side of the room and they fill with a little bit of hope.  

 

He makes his way over to the fireplace and says, "And then tonight, those lights will appear again.  Just like they always do on my birthday."

 

He climbs atop the mantel and moves the curtain covering his latest painting aside.  This part of the wall is covered in a dark paint to represent night, and it's littered with white and yellow dots to resemble the lights Taehyung sees at this time of year. 

 

"What could it be like out there where they glow?" he wonders.  Taehyung runs his fingers over the dried paint.  "Now that I'm older, I can ask dad if I can go out tonight to see them," he hopes.  "He might just let me go—"

 

The sound of glass breaking behind Taehyung scares him, making him fall from the mantle onto his back on the floor.  His head smacks against the tile before his vision fades to black.

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh my God, I'm blind!" Taehyung screams when he opens his eyes to complete darkness.  He tries to move but gets nowhere due to the small space he's confined in.   _I_ _must be in the storage cabinet_ , he thinks.

 

"What are you so loud for?" a muffled voice grumbles.

 

Taehyung stills at the voice.  "W-who's there?" he calls out.  Nervousness bubbles in his belly and the feeling of panic begins to rise in his chest. 

 

He remembers his father reading him a bedtime story about thieves that brake into people's houses looking for treasure.  Taehyung didn't go to sleep for three days because of paranoia and Jin might have doubted his parenting skills. 

 

"If you want money, I have no idea where my father keeps it!" he says desperately. 

 

Taehyung honestly doesn't know.  All he knows about money is that people trade it in exchange for something else.

 

A chair's legs scratching across the floor sounds before the storage cabinet doors are flung open and Taehyung is briefly blinded by the sudden bright light.

 

"Stand up," the voice instructs.

 

Taehyung rises to his feet with a grunt.  He's careful with his footing as he steps out of the small storage cabinet, making sure not to step on his hair.

 

"You have a lot of hair, don't you?" the voice remarks.

 

Taehyung flinches at the voice and sees a dark skillet being pointed at his head.  His eyes travel down to see a pair of dirty boots and back up to see a slim silhouette dressed in dark clothes.  He expected to see a big scary man, but—

 

"You're a girl," he gasps.

 

The girl raises an eyebrow at that.  "Yeah, I'm aware, Captain Obvious."

 

Taehyung furrows his eyebrows, guessing she's talking about someone else.  He quickly glances over his shoulder before he turns back.  "Who's Captain Obvious?"

 

"You," the girl waves the skillet at his face, "I'm calling you Captain Obvious."

 

"But that's not right.  My name is Taehyung."

 

"Do you live under a rock?"

 

"A rock—No, I live in this tower," Taehyung huffs.

 

The girl before slaps a hand over her face before she looks at Taehyung again.  " _Who are you?_ "

 

"I just told you, my name is Taehyung," he says with slight irritation.  "How did you even find my home?"  Taehyung tries to lift his hands, but he finds that they're bound behind his back.  "And why do you have me tied up?!"

 

"Here's the deal," the girl sighs as she makes her way to Taehyung's pantry.  "I was in a situation, gallivanting through the forest when I came across your tower.  I climbed up, burst through the window, and saw you strangely sitting on top of your fireplace before you fell.  You blacked out and I tied you up because I didn't want you trying anything funny when woke up." 

 

She pulls out an apple and bites down on it as she turns back to Taehyung, who is awkwardly standing in the middle of the room. 

 

"I didn't mean to smash your window—well, _I did_ , but I didn't think someone would be living here."

 

Taehyung can tell that she's leaving out something.   _There has to be a reason why she's here._   He nods at the bag hanging near her hip.  "What's in that satchel?"

 

"A crown," she says simply.

 

"You—" Taehyung blanches.

 

"I stole it.  No one was harmed and I need the money."  She suspiciously eyes Taehyung, "Are you gonna rat me out?"

 

"No, no.  I wouldn't do that," Taehyung easily reasons.  "You look like you could easily beat me up."

 

"I could," the girl lightly laughs.  "But I'm not going to.  You seem nice."  She takes another bite out of the apple before she speaks with her mouth full.  "The name's Sooyoung, by the way."

 

Taehyung may or may not have developed some feelings for this girl already.  "I-I'm Taehyung," he stutters.

 

"I got that earlier," Sooyoung says in amusement and Taehyung curses at himself when he realizes he already told her his name.

 

A voice suddenly calls out from outside the tower.

 

" _Taehyung, my birthday boy!  Let down your hair!_ "

 

Taehyung internally screams.  "That's my dad!  You need to hide!  There's no telling what he'll do if he finds someone other than me is here!"

 

"I can take him," Sooyoung cracks her knuckles.

 

"No!" Taehyung whisper screams.  "Just cut my hands free and go hide upstairs!"

 

"Fine."  Sooyoung reluctantly pulls out a small knife from her belt and she cuts the rope binding Taehyung's wrists before she swiftly runs up the steps and hides in Taehyung's room.

 

Taehyung quickly cleans the living room, closing the doors to the storage cabinet and placing the skillet back on top of the oven.  He quickly sweeps up the broken glass and closes the curtain to hide the broken window over the kitchen sink.  He wipes the sweat from his forehead and moves to open the door. 

 

Taehyung throws his long red hair over the ledge and pulls his father up into the tower with shaky hands.

 

"What took you so long?  You're usually quick to pull me up," Jin says as he places his hat on the kitchen counter.

 

"I...was in the bathroom," Taehyung lies.  His tongue burns.  Taehyung never lies to his father.

 

"Well, how was your day?  You feel any different now that you're eighteen?" Jin smiles.

 

"My day was good," Taehyung bounces on his toes.  He glances at the stairs leading to his room before he looks back to his father with a tight smile.  "I feel the same as yesterday."

 

"You're acting a little strange," Jin chuckles.  "Is everything alright?"

 

"Oh, no, I'm fine," Taehyung tries to laugh off.

 

"Do you have anything in mind that you'd want as a birthday gift?" Jin walks over to the sink and begins to wash his hands.

 

Taehyung's stomach drops because he's hoping he didn't leave shards of broken glass behind while he was cleaning. 

 

"I know your birthday is today, but things at work have been hectic, and I didn't have time to get you anything beforehand," Jin says as he turns back to his son, drying his hands with a towel.

 

"Oh," Taehyung says. He's so nervous he almost forgot his own birthday for a second there.  He needs to get his father out of here before he sees Sooyoung.

 

A small thud sounds from upstairs and Taehyung jumps.

 

"What was that?" Jin questions as looks towards the ceiling.

 

"Nothing!" Taehyung says a little too loudly before he coughs.  "I was brushing my hair earlier and I left the brush on the very edge of my dresser.  It must've fallen off."

 

Jin purses his lips and stares at Taehyung for a long time before he shrugs and says, "Well, that makes sense."

 

Taehyung wrings out his hands.

 

"So is there anything that you'd like for a birthday present, Tae?"

 

"Well, I have been meaning to ask you something."  Taehyung knows exactly what he wants.  "I was wondering," he says hesitantly before he gains the courage he needs, "If I could go see the lights?"

 

"The lights?  What lights?"

 

"The lights that fly in the sky," Taehyung explains.  "They always appear on my birthday every year and I would like to go see them in person tonight—"

 

"No."

 

"What?"

 

"No, Taehyung."

 

"But it's for my birthday!" he tries.  "Why can't I just go—"

 

"I said no and that is final!" Jin yells.

 

Taehyung flinches at his father's booming voice and he steps back, tripping over his feet and falling onto his butt in the process. 

 

Jin moves to stand over him.  "You are _never_ leaving this tower, so don't you dare ask to leave again."

 

"O-okay."  Tears well in Taehyung's eyes.  "I, um, I won't ask again.  I'm sorry."  

 

Anger leaves his father's face and he reaches to help Taehyung to his feet.  "I'm sorry for yelling at you.  I just need to keep you safe.  The world isn't what you think it is, Taehyung."  

 

Taehyung knows.  His father never lets him forget that.

 

"Now," Jin sighs, "Is there anything _else_ you would like for your birthday?" he asks, slight irritation laced in his voice.

 

Taehyung could always use some more paint. 

 

"Paint," he timidly says.  "But the special kind you got me that other time."

 

"Are you sure that's what you want?  I'll have to go on a long trip to get that for you, but I don't mind."

 

"Yes, I'm sure."  Taehyung's heart breaks a little.  "How long will you be gone?"

 

"Three days, at the least," his father says, moving to his room to start packing.  "I'll leave this afternoon just so I can be back quicker."  He returns with a bag filled with some clothes and makes his ways over to the pantry to pack some food.  "I feel bad for making you spend your birthday alone, but I'll make it up to you when I return.  Will you be alright here by yourself for a little while?"

 

"Of course I will," Taehyung says with a tight smile.  "I'll keep the house tidy like I always do."

 

Jin pulls his bag over his shoulder and walks over to the door to open it.  "I'll be back soon.  Don't stay up too late and make sure you eat.  I'll see you in three day's time, son."

 

Taehyung lowers his father out of the tower and closes the door with a soft click.

 

"I can take you to see the lights," Sooyoung offers from the top of the stairs.

 

"You heard my dad," Taehyung wipes at his eyes, "I can't go.  I have to stay here."

 

"I was actually planning on going tonight.  I can have you there and back before your dad returns," she says she descends the staircase.  "Besides, it's your birthday, right?  You should treat yourself."  Sooyoung waits for Taehyung to say something, but when he doesn't, she starts to make her way to the door to leave.

 

"Wait!  I-I wanna go with you," Taehyung says suddenly. 

 

Sooyoung turns back to the boy with raised eyebrows, "Yeah?  You sure?"

 

"Yeah," Taehyung breathes.  He can't believe what he's about to do.

 

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Sooyoung says as she opens the door.  "Let's go."  

 

 

 

 

 

Sooyoung lets go of the rope and lands on her feet with a soft thud.  "Come on, Taehyung!" she calls from below the tower. "You don’t want to miss your chance to see the lights, do you?"

 

"I'm coming!" Taehyung yells back.  He loops his hair on a peg above the door and tugs on it to make sure it's secure.  "I can't believe I'm doing this, I can't believe I'm doing this, I can't _believe I'm doing this_ ," he quietly chants to himself as walks to the open door. 

 

Taehyung nervously shuffles through the doorway and abruptly stops when he reaches the ledge.  He just knows his father would be yelling at him right now, but he really wants to see the lights.

 

He tightens his grip on his hair before he dares to look at what's below.  He leans forward and opens his eyes. Taehyung briefly sees Sooyoung standing impatiently below with her hands on her hips before he jerks away.

 

"We don't have all day!" Sooyoung warns.

 

"Just give me a second," Taehyung whines.  He hurriedly runs back into his home and snags his skillet of the kitchen counter, just in case he needs it. 

 

 _We might get hungry out there in the wilderness and I might need to cook something for Sooyoung and me_ , Taehyung reasons with himself as he walks back over to the ledge.

 

"Taehyung, if you aren't down here in the next ten seconds, I'm leaving!"

 

Taehyung looks over the ledge again and sees Sooyoung waving for him to come down. 

 

He looks up and sees the trees dancing in the wind again, just like that time when his father left the door open and Taehyung's curiosity was sparked.  The colors of the world are still more vibrant than all the paint his father could buy.

 

Taehyung takes a deep breath and moves forward until his toes hang off the edge.  "I just have to do jump," he takes a few steps back, preparing himself to jump, "I can do this."

 

"Six, five," Sooyoung begins to count down aloud.

 

Taehyung is so nervous, he's so close to throwing up.  "Should I?" he questions himself.  He looks back at his painting of the lights over the fireplace and then at the hat his father left in the living room.

 

"Four, three…"

 

 _You'll be there and back before dad returns_ , Taehyung tells himself as he stuffs his skillet under his armpit.  He throws his hair over the ledge and watches it cascade down the length of the tower.

 

"Here I go," he closes his eyes as he strides forwards and jumps.

 

 

 

 

 

"So are you gonna continue hanging from your tower there or what?" Sooyoung asks.

 

"No," Taehyung says timidly as he tightens the hold on his hair.  His eyes are shut tight and he hangs barely an inch from the ground.  "I've just never been this close to grass before."

 

"What?" Sooyoung almost yells.  "Were you kept in that tower against your will?"

 

"Of course not," Taehyung says without a doubt.

 

"…Right."

 

Taehyung cracks on of his eyes open and he hesitantly sticks his big toe into the grass and it gives him goosebumps, making him let go of his hair to plant both of his feet on the ground. 

 

He runs his feet across the softness of the green blades.  It tickles his toes the same way feathers do and he laughs at the feeling as he falls to his knees and spreads himself out atop the cool earth.  

 

"You're gonna get your clothes dirty," Sooyoung winces.  

 

The wind begins to blow and Taehyung relishes the feeling.  "Is this what a summer breeze feels like?" Taehyung sighs as a dandelion softly grazes his nose.  "I've only read about them in books." 

 

Sooyoung crosses her arms, "No.  It's autumn right now.  Summer ended a few days ago."

 

Taehyung feels so free!  He stands and he begins to run with the wind.  He could go running and racing and dancing if he wanted to.

 

"Okay, we're running now," Sooyoung says as she quickly begins to follow Taehyung. 

 

Taehyung begins to run faster, his heart pounding with excitement.  He sees the tunnel of a cave exiting from his land and Taehyung bounds for it.

 

"Wow, you're really fast," Sooyoung huffs from behind.  

 

Taehyung bursts out of the cave and spreads his arms, feeling the fresh air flow between his fingers as he spins. 

 

Everything feels so surreal and he can't believe this is happening. 

 

He's finally out of the tower. 

 

"My life can finally begin!" Taehyung says happily. 

 

 

 

 

 

Taehyung lifts a branch, with the arm that isn't holding a cooking skillet and most of his hair, over Sooyoung's head and ushers her under the tree's limb.

 

Sooyoung hesitates with confusion on her face, but eventually steps under Taehyung's arm and says, "Very chivalrous of you.  I don't get that a lot."

 

"You don't get what a lot?" he questions.

 

"Men being polite to women," Sooyoung answers as they continue walking through the thick forest.  "King Namjoon does a great job ruling over the kingdom, but the men there can be a real pain sometimes."

 

"Oh, I'm sorry about that," Taehyung says sincerely before he sadly smiles.  "My dad says it's important to be nice to everyone...  Sounds a little hypocritical now, doesn't it?  I lied to him and left my tower after he told me not to."

 

"Listen, Taehyung," Sooyoung steps out of the edge of the forest with a concerned look on her face before she turns to him, "About your dad, I need to ask—"

 

Just then, a woman tackles Sooyoung from the side.

 

"Sooyoung!" Taehyung yells as he tries to step through the treeline but is stopped when another woman traps her arms over his.

 

The woman that tackled Sooyoung climbs on top of her and Sooyoung quickly pulls her knees up to her chest and kicks the woman over her head.  The woman lands on her back with a hard thud as Sooyoung quickly gets to her feet.

 

"I thought I told you and Joohyun to leave me alone if you knew what was good for you, Seulgi,"  Sooyoung spits.

 

"Yeah, I heard you loud and clear when you said that," Seulgi slowly rolls over and stands, brushing off a few stray blades of grass and loose dirt from her outfit as she scoffs, "But why would I follow such an empty threat?"

 

Taehyung has no idea what is going on and he's scared out of his mind. 

 

He as has never been around so many women— _or any women, for that matter_ —in his life and he doesn't know how to feel about it.  He struggles against the grip he's trapped in.

 

"Don't try anything," the Joohyun hisses near his ear.

 

"How about you hand over that crown," Seulgi says.  "And no harm will come to you or your new little friend here."  She eyes Taehyung, "You said you were looking for something in this forest.  Looks like you found it."

 

 _What was she looking for in the forest?_ Taehyung thinks.

 

Seulgi steps forward, "Hand over the crown while I'm asking nicely."

 

"Over my dead body," Sooyoung spits.

 

"That's too bad.  I wasn't planning on killing anyone today."

 

Seulgi suddenly lunges for Sooyoung, throwing herself in the air as she spins and attempts to kick Sooyoung with the back of her heel.  Sooyoung is quick to duck her head before Seulgi fully faces Sooyoung and throws her first punch to the side of Sooyoung's head. 

 

Sooyoung lifts her left arm and blocks it, then she quickly lifts her right arm to block the next punch Seulgi throws at her.

 

Seulgi angrily slaps Sooyoung's arm out of her way before she rears back and tries to elbow Sooyoung in the face.  Sooyoung once again lifts her arm to block Seulgi's attempt, but Seulgi pushes Sooyoung's elbow farther in the air before she grabs Sooyoung's wrist and bends her arm, forcefully turning her and twisting her wrist so that Sooyoung's back is slammed against Seulgi's chest.

 

Sooyoung grunts and mashes her heel down on Seulgi's toes and throws her head back to headbutt Seulgi in the face.  Stunned, Seulgi lets go of Sooyoung and stumbles back.

 

Taehyung follows Sooyoung's lead and repeats what he just saw her do. 

 

He stomps as hard as he can on Joohyun's toes and runs them both back into a tree.  Joohyun's arms are still tightly wrapped around him as her back hits the tree trunk, so he slightly pushes both of their arms up and bites down on Joohyun's hand.

 

Joohyun yells and Taehyung moves to free himself before he begins running towards the treeline.  He can feel Joohyun hot on his tracks, so he ducks before she can clothesline him from behind and he swings his skillet, knocking Joohyun in the back of the head as she runs past him.  She falls to the ground with a hard thud and makes no move to get back up.

 

Not believing what he just did, Taehyung skids to a stop on his knees beside Joohyun and presses his fingers to the pulse point on her neck. 

 

"Oh, good.  I didn't kill her," he sighs in relief when he feels a faint rhythm pulsating underneath her skin.

 

"A little help here, Taehyung!" Sooyoung yells.

 

Taehyung bolts through the treeline and spots Sooyoung and Seulgi wrestling on the ground, rolling every which way in the dirt, trying to get the upper hand.

 

Seulgi wins the battle of dominance between them and climbs on top of Sooyoung.  She straddles her legs on both sides of Sooyoung's chest, resting her knees atop of Sooyoung's arms before she reaches behind her and unsheathes a small knife.

 

Taehyung runs forward but is stopped when Seulgi snaps her head at him.

 

"Ah, ah, ah," Seulgi warns as she points the knife towards Taehyung.  "Drop the skillet."

 

Taehyung slowly places his skillet on the ground and Sooyoung grunts in frustration, struggling underneath Seulgi.

 

"Take the crown out of her satchel and put it in mine," Seulgi instructs Taehyung.

 

"But—" Taehyung hesitates and warily looks between Sooyoung and Seulgi.

 

Sooyoung begins to thrash and almost gets one of her arms free before Seulgi rolls her eyes in annoyance and stabs Sooyoung straight through her hand, right in between her index finger and thumb.

 

"Do what I say or her throat is next!" Seulgi yells over Sooyoung's pained cries.

 

Taehyung eyes begin to water and falls to his knees, pulling the crown from her satchel.  A flash of white blurs his vision as soon as his fingers wrap around the cool metal.

 

 

_Taehyung seems to be lying on his back and he is wrapped in the softest sheets._

 

_A woman's smiling face comes into view and she caresses his cheek as a man appears and wraps his arm around her shoulders._

 

_"He's precious, isn't he?" the man grins down at Taehyung._

 

_"He truly is," the woman softly agrees._

 

 

Taehyung abruptly snaps back to reality and before realizes what he's doing, he's placing the crown in Seulgi's satchel.

 

"Now step away," Seulgi tells him.

 

Taehyung shakily stands to his feet when suddenly Sooyoung lifts her legs and wraps her ankles around the front go Seulgi's neck.  Seulgi's hands fly to Sooyoung's feet as Sooyoung pulls the knife out of her hand. 

 

Taehyung is quick on his feet, grabbing at his skillet behind him and swings it across the back of Seulgi's head.

 

Sooyoung unwraps her ankles and Seulgi goes limp before falling on her back with a hard thud.

 

Taehyung scrambles to check her pulse and he lets go of the breath he was holding when he confirms that she's alive.  He looks over to Sooyoung and he can't help but let his eyes fall on her wound. 

 

Bile rises in his throat and he swallows it down before saying, "Y-your hand.  You're hurt."

 

Sooyoung silently rolls Seulgi's body off of her and she rises to her feet.  She tears off a piece of cloth from her undershirt and wraps it around the deep gash in her hand before she bends over and pulls the crown from Seulgi's satchel. 

 

She stumbles a little as she rises and Taehyung is quick to hold onto her arm to balance her.

 

"Sooyoung!" Taehyung says with worry.

 

"I'm fine," she tries to assure Taehyung, but he can obviously tell that she's lying.  "Let's go," she pushes off of Taehyung and begins walking.

 

Taehyung sticks his skillet underneath his armpit and quickly gathers most of his hair before he silently follows after Sooyoung.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**PART II : LIVING IN A BLUR**

 

The sun is starting to go down and Taehyung is worried.

 

They have been walking nonstop and Sooyoung still hasn't said anything about her wounded hand.  The cloth she wrapped around it soaked through a while ago.  Some of her hair is matted at her temples and her skin starting to turn pale.

 

"Sooyoung," Taehyung says hesitantly, "We should stop here.  You don't look well."

 

"No, we need to keep going," she breathes.

 

Taehyung stops and pulls Sooyoung to sit on a log.  "Would you stop acting so tough for one minute?  We need to take care of your hand."

 

Sooyoung stubbornly moves to stand, but Taehyung places his hands on her shoulders and pushes her back down to sit.

 

"Fine," Sooyoung says weakly as she gives up.  She winces and lifts her hand like she just now noticed how badly damaged her hand is.  "But we don't have any supplies."

 

"I know that." 

 

Taehyung busies himself by gathering a few sticks and leaves and places them in front of Sooyoung.  He moves to her side and digs through her bag until he finds the pack of matches (he saw her swipe them off of his fireplace when she thought he wasn't looking) and he lights one before tossing it into the pile of sticks and leaves. 

 

He bends down and blows on the lit match until the pile catches fire, and then he stands.  Taehyung moves to straddle the log and sits as he places Sooyoung's small hand in his larger one facing palm up.  He carefully undoes the cloth wrapping around the wound. 

 

Sooyoung attempts to shrink away, but Taehyung gently grabs her wrist and pulls it back towards him. 

 

"It hurts," she wines.  "What are you planning to do?"

 

Taehyung bends over and grabs the end of his hair from the ground and exhales through his nose before saying, "Just...  Just trust me." 

 

He begins to wrap his hair around her hand.  His thick red hair soaks up the dark blood leaking from Sooyoung's hand.

 

"You're being strangely cryptic as you wrap your hair around my injured hand," she tries to joke over the slight pain.

 

Without thinking, Taehyung pulls on his hair to make sure it's secure on Sooyoung's hand.

 

"Ow!  Hey!" she flinches.

 

"Sorry," Taehyung grimaces.  He sets Sooyoung's hand in her lap and scoots back a little.  His hands are clammy.  He hasn't sung this song for anyone else but his father. 

 

He doesn't know if his hair can heal wounds, but if it can take away his father's wrinkles and spider veins, then  _there's no hurt in trying, right?_  

 

He nervously smooths his hair behind his ears.  "Don't freak out, okay?"

 

Sooyoung quietly looks from her hand to Taehyung with furrowed eyebrows.

 

Taehyung rests his hands in his lap and takes a deep breath before he begins to sing.  "Tresses gleam and glow," he closes his eyes as the roots of his hair take on a pink glow.

 

Sooyoung jumps a little and covers her mouth with her free hand, "Taehyung, what—"

 

"Let your power shine," he begins to sing a little steadier as the glowing light in his hair travels down his back and he faintly sees its light from behind his eyelids. 

 

He bunches his fingers into the fabric of his trousers and sings deeply as the hair that is resting on the ground grows in color.

 

"Heal what has been hurt, stitch and sew what's harmed," Taehyung really focuses on these lyrics, truly hoping that his hair will really heal Sooyoung's hand.

 

A gasp from Sooyoung sounds through the stagnant air and Taehyung doesn't dare open his eyes yet.  He shakily sings the next line of the lullaby.  His shoulders are tense.  Taehyung doesn't want the song to end, he doesn't want Sooyoung to think he's a freak because of his hair. 

 

"Bring back the youth I've lost...  The youth I've lost."

 

The last line of the song hangs in the quiet ambiance.  Crickets are chirping in the background and Taehyung swears he can hear the deep  _ribbit-ribbits_ coming from a few frogs.

 

Taehyung peeks through his eyelashes and finds Sooyoung hurriedly unwrapping his hair from her hand.

 

"You—"  Sooyoung's mouth hangs open as she looks at her hand and flips it back and forth, no longer seeing the whole in her hand.  "How did you—" she stumbles," What did you—"

 

"Please don't freak out!" Taehyung begs.  His shoulders drop and he laughs to himself, "I can't believe that worked!"

 

"No, no, I'm totally not freaking out—are you freaking out?" Sooyoung babbles.  "You hair somehow possesses magical qualities and it healed my hand," she lifts both of her hands in front of her face, "Why does one of my hands look _younger_ than the other?  No, that doesn't make sense—but this hand _doesn't_ have those little hairs anymore and this one _does_ ," Sooyoung tucks both of her hands between her legs and looks to Taehyung, "How long has your been doing this?!"

 

"Forever, I guess," Taehyung smiles.

 

"Okay," Sooyoung blankly nods, looking a little distraught.

 

"My father told me when I was a baby, people would try to cut it," he turns his neck and reveals a piece of short dark hair resting against his nape, "Once it's cut, it turns from red to brown and loses its power." 

 

Taehyung then parts his hair above his left eyebrow to reveal another unevenly cut piece of dark hair.

 

"I tried to cut myself bangs one time," he sheepishly says.  "Let's just say my father wasn't happy about that," he smooths down his hair.  "So, a gift like this has to be carefully protected."

 

"So that's why," Sooyoung starts.

 

"So that's why my dad…  That's why I never..." Taehyung tries. 

 

His father isn't a bad person, _really_.  Taehyung never gave a lot of thought as to how much his hair and his father has affected so much of his life.

 

"That's why you're dad never lets you leave that tower," Sooyoung finishes.  "You're gonna go back, aren't you, Taehyung?" 

 

"No!" Taehyungs a little too loudly.  _But what about my dad?_ "Yes?  I don't know.  It's just…  Complicated."

 

Sooyoung slowly lifts her hand and pats his shoulder, but its reassuring.  "You have time to think about it.  Just talk to your dad when he gets back, and sort it all out then."

 

"We'll see," Taehyung exhales.  He highly doubts there will be a positive outcome for that conversation.  "So, let's talk about you.  I don't think you've given the full story as to why you broke into my home," he smiles.

 

Sooyoung lowers her head.  "You already know I stole the crown."

 

"Yeah, but I don't know _why_ ," Taehyung prods.

 

Sooyoung gazes at their little campfire and is quiet for a while before she sighs. 

 

"I stole it for my little brother…  He's, um," she rubs her hands together, "He's really sick.  We went to a clinic in the kingdom to get him diagnosed.  Turns out he's so sick that he needs a really expensive treatment or he could die.  My mother couldn't afford it, so I just woke up one morning and left home to find some way to make some quick money."

 

 _She's just trying to help her brother_ , Taehyung thinks.

 

"And those girls we ran into back there," Sooyoung breathes, "I met them and they told me they needed help sneaking onto the royal family's property to steal the crown.  We promised each other that we'd split the money when we pawn it off," she bitterly laughs.  "But we all had our own agendas…  I just acted on mine first."

 

"I'm sorry about your brother," Taehyung says.  He wonders if his hair could heal her little brother, but he doesn't voice it.

 

"My mom even tried to marry me off to some rich guy from the nicer part of the kingdom," Sooyoung snorts.  "She said it would be good for me and I could get him to pay for my brother's treatment, but I can't just marry someone I don't love.  It just didn't seem right to me.  There are plenty of ways to save my brother and that isn't it." 

 

Sooyoung leans forward and rests her arms on her thighs. 

 

"I, uh, I haven't been the best daughter to my mom.  She's always going on about bringing honor to the family," Sooyoung mockingly finger-quotes, "Or something like that."

 

"I think finding your own way to help your little brother, even if that makes you become a thief, could be more honorable than marrying someone don't love and manipulating them," Taehyung says, trying to make the atmosphere light.

 

"I think so too," Sooyoung smiles and Taehyung thinks she looks pretty when the corners of her mouth are turned upwards.

 

"Plus you got to meet me.  I was very lonely in that tower, you have no idea," he jokes.

 

"Yeah, I got to meet you," Sooyoung laughs a little at that.  "And thank you, Taehyung.  For my hand and all."

 

"You're welcome, Sooyoung," Taehyung says warmly as they look each other in the eyes.  Something flutters in Taehyung's stomach and he looks to the ground.

 

"Hey, can I ask you something," Sooyoung says.

 

Taehyung snaps his head up and his stomach flutters again, "Yeah, anything."

 

Sooyoung lifts her hand and points at it, "Is there any chance that I'm going to have super strength in this hand?  Because I'm not gonna lie, that would be really stupendous."

 

Taehyung bursts with laughter.  "No, I don't think so."

 

"Aw, I was hoping it would," Sooyoung sarcastically pouts as she stands.  "Let's keep going, we're almost to the kingdom."

 

 

 

 

 

Sooyoung and Taehyung walk along a creek that leads them into a clearing. 

 

The air here is lighter compared to the humidity in the forest and Taehyung takes a deep breath.  He lets his hair fall to the ground, his arms slightly ache from carrying its weight.

  
   
Sooyoung points to a cabin on the other side of the clearing.  "I'm meeting someone that wants to buy the crown in this restaurant.  We'll be in and out, and then we'll head to the festival, alright?"

   
   
Taehyung looks to the cabin and nods.  There are people talking and laughing loudly outside and there's smoke coming out of the chimney.  His stomach loudly growls.  That adrenaline rush from earlier might have him a little hungry.   

  
   
"Don't get too excited," Sooyoung snorts as she walks ahead of him.  "I don't have any money to buy you a meal in there, and the food isn't all that great anyway."

  
   
"Oh," Taehyung says.  If he were home now, he'd be heating up the food his father left for him.  He regrets not packing a bag of food for this trip.  His mouth starts to water.

  
   
"Here," Sooyoung reaches into her bag and tosses an apple at him.  "This should hold you over until we reach the kingdom."  

  
   
Taehyung laughs under his breath as he catches the fruit in his hands.  He knows Sooyoung stole this apple from his pantry, but he doesn't comment on it.  

  
   
Sooyoung opens the door to the cabin and a musty smell instantly fills Taehyung's nose.  The room is mostly crowded with sweaty men and busty women roaming around the room, chugging on large chalices, and singing along to whatever song a guy with a hook for a hand is playing on the piano. 

 

A woman is already seductively eyeing Taehyung as they walk through the doorway and he quickly lowers his head to avoid her eyes. 

  
   
Taehyung winces at the feeling of crumbs and something wet touching his bare feet.  He accidentally bumps into a man's chest and Taehyung receives a drunken string of harsh words he's never heard before.  

  
   
Sooyoung links her hand with his and pulls him in the opposite direction.  "Keep up with me.  I know this is a lot to take in since this is your first time outside, but I swear you walk as slow as a snail."

  
   
Taehyung lets himself be dragged along as he gazes at Sooyoung's hand holding his.  He's only seen this kind of interaction in books, let alone in real life. 

 

He smiles, thinking of that story about a princess that got her happily-ever-after as her and a prince run hand-in-hand into the sunset. 

 

Taehyung lightly squeezes Sooyoung's hand, just to make sure that this is really happening, and Sooyoung abruptly stops to look back at him.

  
   
"Is something wrong?" she questions.

  
   
"No, it's just that," Taehyung blushes as he looks away, "You're holding my hand."

  
   
Sooyoung looks down at their hands and a hint of red flowers at her cheeks.  "B-because you can't be trusted to walk by yourself," she says a little too quickly before she tugs on him to keep walking.

  
   
They reach the middle of the room when Taehyung's head is suddenly yanked backward and he turns to see that someone has unknowingly stepped on his hair.

  
   
Sooyoung makes a disgruntled noise and quickly moves to help Taehyung gather up his hair.  "People aren't really that considerate of others in here."  

  
   
_But you're considerate of me?_  

 

Taehyung's heart flutters a little as he picks up the last of his hair from the floor.  "I'm alright, sure it was an accident."  

  
   
Sooyoung walks to a vacant table on the far side of the room near the wall and sets Taehyung's hair in one of the empty seats, telling him to wait before she leaves and disappears behind a raggedy door.  

  
   
Taehyung sits and busies himself with his apple before he sees a small rat run by his toes.  His father hates rats and Taehyung can't count on his fingers how many small animals he has saved from his father's hands.  He watches the rat run into the crowd before it comes rushing back over to Taehyung's side of the room. 

  
   
He bites off a piece of his apple and places it on the ground before the rat passes by.  He watches with a smile as the rat stops to nibble on the piece of fruit before the rat carries it away inside of a little hole in the wall.   _Cute_ , he thinks.

  
   
Taehyung looks up in time to see Sooyoung appear from behind the door with two scary-looking men.  She shakes hands with one of them and hugs the other— _I'm not jealous_ , Taehyung tells himself—after he drops a pouch into her hands.  

 

Taehyung lifts his eyebrows at Sooyoung as she returns to his table.  

  
   
"See?  That didn't take long at all.  Time for us to go," Sooyoung motions to the exit.

  
   
"Guards!"  

  
   
Sooyoung curses under her breath and she quickly flips up the tablecloth, pulling Taehyung underneath the table with her.  

  
   
"Search this place!" a guard yells.  "I don't care if you have to tear this place apart!"  

  
   
Taehyung can hear tables being flipped over and doors being opened and slammed shut.  He starts to sweat. 

 

"What do we do?  They're looking for you, aren't they?" Taehyung whisper-screams.  "Because you stole the—"

  
   
Sooyoung clamps her hand over his mouth.  "Could you  _not_  mention that when there are guards literally in the same room as us?" she whisper-screams back.

  
   
"Found him!" another guard yells.

  
   
Taehyung snaps his head at sight of two pairs of feet that suddenly appear near him and Sooyoung squeezes his arm.

  
   
"I didn't steal that crown," a man frantically says.  "Some lady just sold it to me, I swear!"

  
   
"Do you know where she went?"

  
   
"No, I have no idea!"

  
   
"Bring them in," the guard huffs.  Taehyung hears footsteps and the rattling of chains.  "You two know what she looks like?" the guard asks.

  
   
"Yeah.  She has dark hair, shoulder-length," Joohyun supplies.

  
   
"Dark clothing and a brown satchel hanging off her hip," Seulgi says.

  
   
Taehyung looks to Sooyoung and she shakes her head.

  
   
"Take these two back to the kingdom for questioning," the guard says as he walks away from the table Sooyoung and Taehyung are currently hiding under. 

 

"Search the perimeter, she couldn't have gone too far."

  
   
The restaurant somewhat comes back to life as the guards exit through the front door, but the atmosphere is still tense. 

  
   
Sooyoung lets go of her hold on Taehyung and they both release the breaths they had been holding. 

 

All of a sudden, the tablecloth is being lifted and Taehyung squeezes his eyes shut as he clambers on top of Sooyoung out of fear.

  
   
"Hey," someone whispers. 

 

Taehyung slowly opens his eyes and sees the man that Sooyoung hugged earlier kneeling in front of them. 

 

"Sooyoung, I can get you and your friend out of here," he says quietly.  He gestures with his thumb to the back door of the restaurant.

  
   
Sooyoung crawls from under the table and Taehyung follows.

  
   
The man walks them to the door and cracks it open to check if the coast is clear.  "Keep your heads down out there and stick behind the tree line until you see a dirt trail.  That should take you straight to the kingdom without getting caught."

  
   
"Thank you," Sooyoung sincerely says.

  
   
"Don't worry about it.  Just keep me updated on your little brother," he says as Sooyoung and Taehyung exit the restaurant.

  
   
Sooyoung waves back at him before her and Taehyung run into the thick of the trees.

  
   
"Oh my God," Taehyung exhales.  "I thought we were going to die back there!" 

  
   
"I think we were more likely to die when we were fighting off Joohyun and Seulgi," Sooyoung says offhandedly.

  
   
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Taehyung agrees.  "Those girls were pretty scary."

  
   
Sooyoung looks over at him with a playful smile.  "Am I scary?"

  
   
"You were at first," Taehyung smiles, "But not anymore."

 

 

 

 

 

A large bell is chiming a sweet tune in the distance as the trail Taehyung and Sooyoung are walking along turns from loose dirt to cobblestone.

 

"Well, we made it," Sooyoung stops and smiles, placing her hands on her hips.  "This is the—"

 

Taehyung gasps and excitedly pushes past Sooyoung.  "This the kingdom!  Oh my God!  We made it!" he exclaims as he runs ahead and jumps happily on his toes. 

 

He stops just past the large gates and his mouth hangs open in amazement.  This is like nothing he has ever seen before. 

 

Everything is so big and there are so many colors.  Nighttime has fully settled over the land now, letting the various lights illuminate the kingdom and the large castle that overlooks the whole city.

 

"Hey," Taehyung says to Sooyoung and points up at the structure.  "That's the place you stole from right earlier today, right?  Wow, this place is huge."

 

"Again, could you not mention that out loud," she rolls her eyes.

 

Taehyung walks forward and immerses himself in the busy life of the city. 

 

Everyone looks so happy roaming to and fro throughout the street.  He smiles wide, like a child tasting candy for the first time.  He wonders if his father has ever come here.

 

"Taehyung, watch where you're going!" Sooyoung calls out.

 

All of a sudden goats pulling a wagon rush past Taehyung and he almost stumbles backward into a woman carrying loaves of bread. 

 

"Sorry, sorry," he politely apologizes as he mistakenly backs into a flock of ducks being herded by a little boy. 

 

The ducks squawk at his feet and Taehyung moves further up the street to get away from the chaos before he feels his scalp being yanked on from people absently stepping on his hair.

 

"I'll just save you the embarrassment and not comment on what you just put yourself through back there," Sooyoung jogs to help Taehyung gather all of his before more people decide to walk over it.  "Taehyung, we need to do something about your hair.  You can't keep walking around like this."

 

Taehyung hugs his hair to his chest and looks around until he spots a group of little girls braiding each other's hair. Sooyoung follows Taehyung's gaze and whistles at the girls to get their attention. 

 

They respond to the sound with wide eyes and gasp when they see Taehyung's long hair.

 

 

 

"So, how do I look?"

 

Sooyoung lifts her gaze from her nails and looks to Taehyung.

 

Taehyung gives her a full three-sixty to show off his newly-braided hair.  There's no telling how many braids the little girls put in his hair, but he's thankful.  His hair stops just above his ankles, no longer giving him trouble like it did before as he turns around again to face Sooyoung again.

 

"You, um," Sooyoung starts.

 

Taehyung turns back to wave goodbye to the girls after he thanks them for their service.  He looks to Sooyoung expectantly, "They did a really good job, didn't they?  They should have their own business," he laughs.

 

"Yeah," Sooyoung quietly agrees.  She hesitantly walks forward and smooths a stray baby hair away from Taehyung's face, "They did really well with your hair."

 

Taehyung stomach flutters due to Sooyoung's close proximity, but something in him tells him to stay still.

  
  
"You look—I mean, your hair looks really nice like this," Sooyoung says as she rests her hand at her side. 

 

Before Taehyung can thank her, she pulls him to a small booth where a man is selling bread.

 

"I'm a little hungry," she pulls out the pouch she received earlier and opens it, revealing golden coins with suns engraved on them.

 

"What are you doing?  Aren't you supposed to save that for your brother?" Taehyung asks.

 

Sooyoung pulls out a few coins, "There's more than enough in here, Taehyung.  We can use a few coins to buy some bread."  Sooyoung takes out a few more coins and hands them to Taehyung, "How about you go to that booth over there and get us some tea, hm?  Don't worry, there's enough money to cover the cost," she laughs as Taehyung panics a little.

 

Taehyung nervously shuffles over to the other booth and waits in line.  He breathes through his nose and clutches on the coins in his hands.

 

A woman taps on his shoulder, "Wow, you have a lot of hair.  It's gorgeous!  How long did it take you to grow it to that length?" she asks in amazement.

 

"Thank you.  I've been growing it all my life," Taehyung says proudly.  "It's a hassle to comb out tangles, though."

 

The woman laughs.  "I bet it is!"

 

"Next customer in line, please!"

 

Taehyung turns around and notices that he's the next person in line for the booth.

 

The man behind the booth rolls up his sleeves and smiles.  "How may I help you?"

 

"Um.  This is my first time buying something and I have no idea what to do," Taehyung says instead.

 

"Oh," the man chuckles.  "Well, are you getting something for yourself?"

 

"No, my friend told me to buy some tea for us," Taehyung says as he places the coins on the wooden counter.

 

"Okay.  It looks like you have just enough for two cups of tea.  I'll have it ready for you in a few," The man takes the coins and places them below the counter before he goes to prepare Taehyung's order.

 

 _Well, that wasn't hard_ , Taehyung exhales.

 

"Here you go," the man hands Taehyung his two cups of tea and bids him farewell.

 

Taehyung spots Sooyoung waiting for him on the other side of the street at a small table.  "I got us drinks!"

 

"Thanks, Taehyung," Sooyoung says as Taehyung sets down the cups and takes the seat across from her. 

 

She breaks the loaf of bread in half and hands one half to Taehyung.  He immediately vacuums the bread into his mouth while Sooyoung's savors hers.

 

Taehyung munches on the bread, his cheeks stuffed full and he's loudly humming in delight, earning a few looks from passersby.  Sooyoung laughs as Taehyung leans his head back and holds his last piece bread in the air over his mouth.

 

Taehyung brings his head back down and looks at her with doe eyes.  "What's so funny?"

 

"Nothing, nothing," Sooyoung waves off as she drinks her tea and Taehyung drops the piece of bread in his mouth.

 

Taehyung wipes the crumbs from his hands before he moves to drink from his cup.  He curiously looks around until he spots a huge mural painted on a stone wall.  It's covered in deep yellows and burnt oranges, and Taehyung feels oddly attached to it. 

 

Without much thought, he rises from his seat and walks over to the mural to get a closer look.

 

A small crowd is gathered around the wall and Taehyung watches as a few people place flowers at its candle-lit alter.  At the center of the mural stands a man and woman standing closely together while holding a small baby wrapped in white cloth.

 

"That's the lost prince," Sooyoung says from beside him.  "The kingdom throws a festival every year in his remembrance.  We light fire lanterns and send them off into the sky.  The king and queen do this in hopes that their lost son will see them and return home."

 

Taehyung says nothing as he gazes at the painting.  He feels something in the pit of his gut, but he can't put his finger on it.

 

A small band begins to play on their instruments behind them and Taehyung immediately turns around to watch the performance.  He claps his hands along with the strum of the guitar before an elderly woman asks him to dance with her.  He looks to Sooyoung for permission before he eagerly nods and takes the woman's hand.

 

More people join them as a crowd gathers around to watch.  Sooyoung is pulled out of the crowd by another man as Taehyung switches partners to dance along with one of the little girls that braided his hair earlier.  He giggles as they hold hands and spin in circles among the crowd.

 

Dancing partners have switched again and Taehyung ends up dancing with another woman as Sooyoung exchanges her previous partner with little girl Taehyung just danced with.  Sooyoung lifts the little girl to sit on her hip, wrapping an arm around her back while Sooyoung holds onto her little hand. 

 

Sooyoung's smile is bright and her laughter harmonizes with the music.

 

Before Taehyung knows it, the rest of the little girls that helped braid his hair are happily grabbing at his hands and taking turns dancing with him.  Taehyung is happy in this moment, but he hasn't gotten a chance to dance with Sooyoung.  He spots her walking on the far end of the circle, dismissing herself from the dancing as she stands to watch.

 

Taehyung's feet move on their own as he strides to Sooyoung and pulls her flush against his chest by the hand.  Sooyoung's other hand automatically rests on his shoulder and she looks up at him with wide eyes.  Taehyung adjusts his hold on her hand encased in his and he walks them back into the circle with the other dancers.

 

Instead of dancing along with the accelerated tempo of the song, Taehyung leisurely sways Sooyoung from side to side in a slow circle.

 

"What are you doing?" Sooyoung glancing around them before looking back to Taehyung.  "Now isn't the time for slow dancing, Taehyung."

 

"There's a time for everything," Taehyung says simply.

 

The music and the cheerful sounds coming from the people around them fade from Taehyung ears.  The lights illuminating the street give a brown undertone to Sooyoung's hair and Taehyung stops himself from the temptation of touching it.

 

"Taehyung—" Sooyoung starts.

 

The music abruptly stops and the crowd cheers before someone shouts something about boats.

 

"Come on," Sooyoung pulls on Taehyung with a soft smile and follows the crowd.  "Time to see your floating lights."

 

 

 

Sooyoung leans over the side of the boat and dips her fingers in the water. 

 

Taehyung pushes the paddles against the water and rows their small boat a little ways away from all the other boats.  The castle sits on a hill before them and mirrors itself into the water below.

 

Taehyung can't help but feel joy now that he knows he's about to see the floating lights, but at the same time, he feels scared.  He puts the paddles down beside him in the boat and sighs.

 

"Taehyung?  Is something wrong?" Sooyoung turns to him. "You're about to have the best night of your life.  Why do you look so sad?"

 

"I don't know…  For some reason I feel terrified," Taehyung says honestly.  "I've been looking out of a window for eighteen years, just dreaming what it'd be like to see the lights in person and floating in the night sky, but what if it's…"

 

"Not everything you dreamed it would be?" Sooyoung finishes for him.

 

"Yeah."

 

"I think it will be," she tells him.

 

"And what if it is?" Taehyung asks.  "What do I do then?"

 

"Well, that's the good part, I guess," Sooyoung looks towards the castle before she returns her gaze to Taehyung.  "You can look forward to something else and...  Dream up another dream."

 

Taehyung smiles at that.

 

 

 

"Solbin," Namjoon shakily calls.

 

Solbin rushes over to him and cradles his face in her hands as a tear runs down his cheek. "Namjoon, what's wrong?"

 

"Please, just," he cries into her hands.  "Just tell me this is the last year we'll do this.  Tell me that our son will come back home to us."

 

"Our son will come back to us," she says.  "I know this is hard, but we just have to keep believing in that."

 

"Alright," Namjoon sniffs.

 

Solbin wipes his tears and guides him to the balcony, a lit fire lantern already placed on a pedestal before them.

 

"We have to light his way home, Namjoon."

 

 

 

A single light in the night sky catches Taehyung's eyes and he almost topples the boat as he abruptly stands and says, "It's starting!"

 

Sooyoung tells him to sit and says something about the boat almost being turned over, but it runs faint to Taehyung's ears.

 

Taehyung has spent all his days watching from his window.  He has spent so much time looking out from the inside.  He feels as if all this time he has been blind because now he can finally see. 

 

He watches the kingdom and the city below begin to glow with a warm light before more fire lanterns than Taehyung can count start to float towards the sky.

 

Sooyoung looks to Taehyung as he gazes at the fire lanterns floating around them.  He looks just as he did when he first laid his eyes on the kingdom.

 

That same wonder is still in his eyes and Sooyoung finds herself gravitating towards that.

 

There are lanterns gathering all around them now and Taehyung basks in their glow.  He quickly blinks at the sight, not daring to take his eyes off of what's in front of him just yet. 

 

Everything is so clear to him now.  He feels like this is where he's meant to be.

 

Sooyoung watches the lights make Taehyung's hair redder than it already is, his eyes browner than they should be.

 

This night has gone far beyond Taehyung's expectations and he has Sooyoung to thank for that.

 

Sooyoung gently tugs on the hem of Taehyung's shirt to get his attention and presents him a small fire lantern for the both of them to send off in the night sky. 

 

"I wanted to get you your own lantern to send off, but I could only snag one of these."  Her cheeks slightly blush before she asks, "Do you wanna do this together?"

 

"Yes," Taehyung's body warms at Sooyoung's kind gesture.

 

He places his hands at the bottom of the lantern, his fingers brushing against Sooyoung's, before they both let go of the lantern. 

 

When the fire lantern floats too far away in the sky for them to look at, they both lower their heads to look at each other, neither of them knowing what this moment is about to lead them to. 

 

Although the girl he just met today comes off as tough and stubborn, Taehyung likes seeing this soft side of Sooyoung.

 

"Thank you, Sooyoung.  You have no idea how much today means to me."

 

"You're welcome," Sooyoung says as she blushes deeper and looks up at the sky to watch the last of the lanterns disappear into the night.

 

Taehyung looks over Sooyoung's shoulder and he swears he could have seen his father standing among the trees in the distance.

 

 

 

 

 

Sooyoung knocks her fist against a wooden door and Taehyung picks at fingers behind her.  

 

"Calm down, Taehyung," Sooyoung says over her shoulder.  "I can feel the anxiety literally radiating off of you.  There's nothing to be worried about."

   

"I know," Taehyung sighs. The sight of his father is worrying him.  "It's just that—"  

 

The door swings open.  "Sooyoung?"  

 

The woman at the door looks just like Sooyoung, only a few inches shorter.  Her hair is pulled back in a messy ponytail and she has bags under her eyes. 

 

"Mom," Sooyoung steps forward and wraps her mother in a tight hug.  

 

Taehyung fondly smiles at the sweet moment between the two before a sharp smack rings through the air.  

 

Sooyoung quickly cups the cheek her mother just slapped.  "What was that for?!"

 

Sooyoung's mother suddenly her daughter's wrists and pulls her into their house. 

 

Taehyung quickly follows before the door is slammed shut.  He stands awkwardly behind Sooyoung.  He feels like he's intruding, but at the same time, he feels like Sooyoung's mother hasn't even noticed his presence yet.

 

"You stupid girl," Sooyoung's mother spits as she points her finger in Sooyoung's face.  "Do you know how worried I have been?  You and your older brother just run off and tell no one where you have gone?"  

 

"What?" Sooyoung furrows her eyebrows.  "Kinam left, too?"  

 

 _Sooyoung has another brother?_  Taehyung questions.   _Why didn't she tell me about this earlier?_

 

"Guards from the kingdom came the morning after you left.  They were going from door to door, drafting the eldest son from every family into the military for the war.  One of Kinam's friends came over and told him what was happening, and they both ran through the back door before I could stop them," she frantically says.

 

"Mom, I'm sorry.  Let me explain why I left," Sooyoung tries.  

 

Her mother doesn't even spare the time to listen to her daughter as she continues to talk.  "You both have been gone for over a month!  I've had almost every guard in the kingdom out searching for the both of you!  I haven't slept a wink, and Kiwoo—oh God, Kiwoo," her mother breaks down.

 

Sooyoung steps forward.  "What's wrong?  Has he gotten worse?"  

 

Taehyung warily looks between the two.  

 

Sooyoung's mother wipes at her eyes and takes a deep breath.  "He's gotten so much worse since you've been gone," she sniffs.  "I've been taking extra shifts at the inn, but it's still not enough to pay for the treatment he needs."  

 

"That's why I left, mom," Sooyoung scrambles to open her satchel.  She pulls out a heavy pouch of coins and presents it to her mother.  

 

"Oh, Sooyoung," her mother gasps.  "Where did you get that?"  

 

"Don't worry about where I got it, just be happy that found a way to get us some money," Sooyoung pleads as she pushes the coin bag into her mother's hands.  "This is enough to cover Kiwoo's treatment.  We can go down to the hospital in the morning and finally get him the help he needs."

 

"You didn't have to go out of your way to do this, but," her mother wipes at her nose, "T-thank you for this, Sooyoung."   

 

"Now that that problem is fixed," Sooyoung gently places her hands on her mother's shoulders.  "Do you have any idea where Kinam could have ran off to?"  

 

There's a knock at the door and Taehyung jumps.  

 

"Kingdom guards," a gruff voice announces.

 

"Sooyoung, they're looking for you!" Taehyung whispers.

 

"They barely know what I look like, Taehyung," Sooyoung says.

 

"But Seulgi and Joohyun told them what you look like!"

 

"I'll go change," Sooyoung runs a hand through her hair.  "Answer the door and I'll take care of this," she whispers as she swipes the coin bag from her mother and runs into another room to hide the money.  

 

Sooyoung's mother hurriedly moves towards the door to open it, revealing three guards.  

 

Taehyung's jaw drops because the guards standing outside the doorway look exactly like the guards in the children's books he used to read. 

 

They look just as strong and manly as the characters on paper.  Two of the guards' uniforms are tailored in ivory fabric with golden detailing, and the colors instantly inspire Taehyung with an idea he can paint when he returns home.  

 

The guard standing in between the other two is wearing a similar uniform, but instead of ivory, his uniform is soaked in a yellow that's almost as vibrant as the sun with burnt orange details.  An ivory sash, decorated with sun and moon shaped badges, runs diagonally down his torso and a cape cascades down his back.  

 

Taehyung backs away from the door, bumping into a small table in the process.  One of the guards eyes him and Taehyung quickly recovers with a bashful smile.   

 

The decorated guard steps forward and bows.  "Good evening, ma'am.  May my men and I come in?"  

 

"Yes," Sooyoung's mother hastily nods and steps out of the doorway, "Please, come in."  

 

The three guards step inside with wondering eyes.  Taehyung tries to make himself look small before an outreached hand comes into his vision and he balks.

 

"Lieutenant General Jeon Jungkook," the decorated guard curtly introduces himself.

 

"U-um, I'm Taehyung," he moves to shake Jungkook's hand, "Just Taehyung." 

 

Taehyung just might need to ask his father what his last name is when he returns home. 

 

Jungkook lifts an eyebrow at that, but he doesn't say anything else as he firmly shakes Taehyung's clammy hand.  He goes to introduce himself to Sooyoung's mother once the other two guards have finished greeting her.  

 

"May I ask why you are here?" Sooyoung's mother intently asks.

 

Sooyoung reenters the room in a different outfit that widely contrasts from what she was wearing earlier.  Her hair is pulled back into a low ponytail and she's wearing a loose, light cotton tunic that runs about mid-thigh with dark trousers rolled above her ankles.

 

A small smile laces Taehyung's lips.  He thinks she looks like springtime.

 

"We were just patrolling the area when one of your neighbors came to us with a violence complaint.  We are simply here to get clarity on the situation," Jungkook explains as he places his hands on his hips.  

 

Taehyung snaps his head at Sooyoung who snaps her head at her mother.  She did slap her own daughter with the door wide open.  

 

"Oh," Sooyoung's mother nervously laughs.  "I was just disciplining my daughter, nothing more."  

 

"Is that so," Jungkook says.  He turns his head to Sooyoung and moves towards her with an outstretched a hand, "I don't believe we've met.  Lieutenant General Jeon Jungkook, and you are?"  

 

"I know who you are," Sooyoung says flatly as she crosses her arms over her chest.

 

"Sooyoung," her mother tuts her tongue in annoyance.  

 

Realization flashes over Jungkook's face, "And I also know  _exactly_  who you are." 

 

He suddenly grabs for Sooyoung's wrist and twists it behind her back as he forces her to turn around.  He kicks the back of her legs and Sooyoung falls on her knees with a grunt.

 

Her mother screams.  "Oh my God!  What is the meaning of all of this?!"  

 

"On behalf of the kingdom, you are under arrest!" Jungkook grabs Sooyoung's other wrist and takes out a pair of handcuffs. 

 

Sooyoung struggles against Jungkook's firm hold and the other two guards unsheathe their swords and point them at her.

 

Taehyung's body runs cold.  

 

"Your daughter is a wanted woman.  Saw her stealing from the royal family's property this morning, and my men and I have been looking for her ever since."  Jungkook locks the handcuffs into place around Sooyoung's wrists and then pulls up on her bicep to make her stand.  "Another patrol arrested your friends just outside the kingdom over an hour ago.  They ratted you out pretty quick, too."  

 

"You stupid, stupid girl," Sooyoung's sadly mother cries.  

 

"Mama?  What's going on?"  

 

Taehyung looks over to the other side of the room to see a young boy unsteadily walking down the stairs. 

 

His skin is pale, his breathing is labored, and damp hair clings to his forehead.  The boy can barely keep himself upright as he holds onto the wall at the bottom stair.  

 

"Kiwoo," Sooyoung's mother rushes over and holds him by his arms.  "You shouldn't be walking around like this, you need be resting."  

 

Kiwoo sleepily rubs at his eyes, "I thought I heard yelling."  He looks ahead and blinks, "Sooyoung?  What are they doing to my sister?" he coughs.

 

"Everything's going to be okay, Kiwoo," Sooyoung assures her brother as she slightly pulls against Jungkook's hold.  "Just go back to bed and I'll be back before you know it, alright?"  

 

"But—" a violent fit of coughs wrack through Kiwoo body and his mother tries to hold him up as he bends over. 

 

He cups his mouth as he coughs and some blood leaks through the cracks of his fingers.  Sooyoung's mother rubs a hand over his back as she tries to soothe him through his coughing spell.

 

Taehyung jogs over to the family's sink and grabs a rag before moving towards the stairs to hand it to Sooyoung's mother.  She quietly thanks Taehyung after she cleans Kiwoo's mouth and hand.

 

"Mom," Sooyoung speaks.  "Just take him upstairs."  

 

"What about you?" her mother looks conflicted.  

 

Sooyoung doesn't say anything.  She shakes her head and looks away.  

 

Sooyoung's mother bends to cradle her arms around her son's back and under his legs before she silently hoists him up and carries him upstairs.  Everything is quiet as Sooyoung's mother's footsteps fade into the upper floor and a door closes with a soft click. 

 

Taehyung turns, seeing Sooyoung is already looking back at him with tears in her eyes.  

 

Jungkook jerks his chin at Taehyung, "Cuff him, too.  He might an accomplice."  

 

 _What is his problem?  Did he not see what just happened, does he have no sympathy?_ Taehyung thinks.

 

The other two guards stalk towards Taehyung and he begins to panic.

 

"Cooperate or we won't hesitate to apprehend you with force," one of the guards warns him.  

 

Taehyung complies and lets the guard cuff his wrists, the hard metal running cool against his skin.  

 

The guards begin to escort them out the house and Taehyung doesn't miss Sooyoung's whispered apology towards him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  **PART III : WHO KNOWS BEST**

 

  
Sooyoung happily leaps off a wagon filled with wheat grains that she was fetching a short ride on.  "Thanks for the ride, Mister Han!"

 

"No problem, Sooyoung," Mr. Han replies.  "Make sure Kinam swings by the farm today to help me with the crop!"

 

"I'll let him know," Sooyoung waves. 

 

She opens the door to her home and strides in, setting her bag on the table.  She came back empty-handed from the paint shop today.  She wanted to get some more paint for her little brother, but _they never seem to have yellow_. 

 

"Mom, I'm home!"

 

"Ah, good!  You're home," her mother says as she walks down the stairs.  She wraps an arm around her daughter and ushers her back out of the house.  "Let's get you cleaned up."

 

Sooyoung furrows her brows.  "Cleaned up?" she asks as her mother pulls her into the bathhouse next door.

 

"I found a great suitor for you!" her mother cheerfully says.  "He's coming to visit you this evening, so we need to get you ready for his arrival."

 

"What—?"

 

The door swings open and a heavy woman bursts through the doorway.  " _This_  is what I have to work with?" the woman pulls on Sooyoung's oily hair and eyes at her sweaty clothes.  "Hm.  I've seen worse."

 

"Hey!" Sooyoung says defensively. 

 

Sure, she could use a bath, but no one needs to call her out on it.

 

The woman drags Sooyoung behind a curtain and begins to strip off her clothes.

 

"Oh my God!" Sooyoung unsuccessfully attempts to cover her naked body.  "Is this really necessary?!  I could have taken my clothes off myself!"

 

The woman doesn’t hesitate to push Sooyoung into a large bathtub.

 

"This water is freezing!" Sooyoung shivers.

 

"It would have been warmer if you came home at the time I told you to," her mother scolds.

 

The heavy woman dumps a bucket of warm water over Sooyoung's head.  "I'll have you washed and primped until your skin is literally glowing," the woman begins to roughly rub soap into Sooyoung's hair before rising it with oils, "I will have her looking like a beautiful bride in time!" she says proudly to Sooyoung's mother.  "She will bring great honor to your family!"

 

Sooyoung's mother reaches into the tub to help scrub soap on her daughter's body before she stops and stares at the smudged letters scribbled onto Sooyoung's forearm. 

 

"Um, what is this?" she pulls Sooyoung's arm towards her.

 

Sooyoung snatches her arm back.  "Kiwoo said he needed some more paint, so I had to write down all that he said he wanted to remember it."

 

Once Sooyoung is cleaned, thoroughly dried, and is put into a formal dress, her mother drags her into another room and sits her on the floor as two women enter the room with brushes and hairpins.

 

One of the women roughly tugs their brush through Sooyoung's tangled hair, "When we're done with your hair, you'll have a whole line of men gladly going to war for you!" 

 

The other woman manipulates Sooyoung's hair into an elegant bun with a huge smile on her face, "You'll bring such great honor to your family!"

 

Something in the back of Sooyoung's mind is telling her this isn't right.

 

"I'm so excited for you, Sooyoung," her mother happily claps with excitement.  "You're going to make such a good wife!"

 

Sooyoung has no intention of being a wife right now, but she can't voice that to her mother.  She just wants to go home and spend time with Kiwoo.

 

Another woman comes in with more articles of clothing to dress Sooyoung in and she rolls her eyes.  The woman pulls Sooyoung's arms through the sleeves and quickly adjusts them.

 

"You two will have such good-looking children, I just know it!" Sooyoung's mother chips with a playful smirk on her lips as Sooyoung glares at her with wide eyes.

 

Another woman comes out of nowhere and ties a piece of silk around Sooyoung's waist and tightly knots it off at her back.

 

Sooyoung feels like she's suffocating.

 

"You'll bring honor to us all—"

 

"Stop," Sooyoung mumbles in her sleep.  She tosses to her side and unconsciously shakes her head.  "Stop!" she suddenly yells.

 

Sooyoung abruptly wakes up in a cold sweat. 

 

She doesn't even remember when she fell asleep last night, but the dream she just had felt as real as the day it happened.  She pushes her herself off from the cold, hard floor and into a sitting position before she looks over her shoulder to the cell Taehyung resides in.

 

"Hey, you," Jungkook calls out.  "You got a visitor."

 

Taehyung looks around his empty cell before he points to himself.  "Me?"

 

Jungkook sighs as he fetches his keys off of his desk, "Yeah, you.  You're the only one in this cell."  He unlocks the cell door and motions for two guards to guard the door while he unlocks Taehyung's cuffed hands from a chain anchored to the wall.  "Stand up.  Let's go."

 

Taehyung closes in on himself as he meets Sooyoung's concerned eyes.  The whites of Taehyung's eyes are red from lack of sleep and his hands are shaking.  He looks so scared. 

 

Sooyoung wants nothing more than to comfort him. 

 

When Taehyung doesn't move to stand, Jungkook forcibly lifts Taehyung by his arms.

 

"Hey!" Sooyoung yells as she wraps her fingers around the rough metal bars of her cell.  "Why are you being so harsh?  He's just scared!"

 

Jungkook says nothing and scoffs as he escorts Taehyung out of his cell.

 

Taehyung just wants to go home.  He's never been away from his tower for a whole day, let alone a _whole night_. 

 

He misses the comfort of his home, he misses his bed, he misses his paint, he misses his father.

 

"Sit," Jungkook instructs.

 

Taehyung didn't even realize they are currently in another room now.  The room is small, just big enough for a small table and two chairs on each side.  Taehyung obediently sits in the wooden chair facing the door and rest his cuffed hands on the table's surface. 

 

Jungkook says something about someone else will be with Taehyung shortly, but the words run faintly to Taehyung's ears as he stares at the irritated skin on his wrists.

 

Warm gentle hands find Taehyung's cheeks before he realizes it.

 

"Oh my God, Taehyung!" Jin gasps as kneels to his knees in front of Taehyung.  His eyes frantically scan over his son, "My son, are you hurt?  You don't know how worried I was!"

 

"Dad," Taehyung breaks down and buries his face into the crook of his father's neck.

 

"I know, I know," Jin deeply coos as he wraps his arms around Taehyung.  "The world is just as scary as I said it would be, huh?" he says as he runs his fingers over Taehyung's braided hair.

 

"No, it actually isn't," Taehyung leans back and brings his hands to his face to wipe away his tears.  "It is so much better than I imagined," he wetly laughs, "You won't believe what happened yesterday, it was almost like a storybook.  Despite almost dying and being locked up in a scary place, it was so much fun!"

 

Jin's face goes unreadable as he stands to his feet.  "Well, I would rather hear all about this after I get you home."

 

"But wait," Taehyung stands, "How did you find me?"

 

"I came back to our home for the hat I left on the kitchen counter before I got too far.  You didn't answer when I called for you to let your hair down," Jin bitterly says as he crosses his arms over his chest.  "So I had to use the latter.  You have no idea how hard that is with old age."

 

Taehyung stills at that.  Now that he's gotten a good look at his father, Taehyung notices that Jin is aging more rapidly than normal. 

 

Most of his father's hair is grey and his skin is slightly sagging.

 

"After that," Jin places his hands in his pockets and walks over to the small window lighting the room.  "I just listened for the sound of utter betrayal and simply followed that."

 

"Dad," Taehyung's shoulder's sink.  "Listen, I—"

 

Jin walks to the other side of the room and begins to open the door to exit the room, "I already paid your bail.  We're going home, son."

 

"No, you don't understand," Taehyung rounds the table to stand before his father.  "I've been on the most incredible journey, and I've seen and learned so much!" Taehyung bashfully smiles at the next part, "I even met someone really nice."

 

"Yes, yes, some poor thief, your father is so proud of you," Jin flatly mocks as he turns to fully open the door.

 

Taehyung shyly toes at the floor, "I think…  I think she likes me."

 

Silence hangs in the air as Jin slowly closes the door back shut. 

 

"Likes you?  Please, Taehyung, do you know how ridiculous you sound right now?"

 

"Dad—" Taehyung tries.

 

Jin slumps back in his chair and throws his hands in the air, "This is why you never should have left home."

 

Taehyung sighs.  _Why can't his father just understand?_

 

"You think there's some kind of romance between you two?  This just proves you're too naïve to be out here," Jin motions for Taehyung to sit down as well. 

 

Jin undoes the first two buttons of his collared shirt and leans back into his seat, looking mildly amused and tired at the same time.

 

Taehyung sits back down in his chair and nervously picks at the fabric of his trousers.

 

"Why in the world would she like you? Just look at where she comes from, come on now, really?" His father gestures at his son and scoffs, "And look at you.  Do you really think that she's impressed?"

 

Taehyung wraps his arms around himself and shrinks back in his seat.  

 

_What is dad saying?  Do I not look nice?_

 

Taehyung has never had to wonder about his appearance growing up, but now his father is making him have doubts.

 

"Don't be a fool, Tae," Jin stresses.  "Come back with me."  He changes his whole demeanor to something sweeter before he says, "Father knows best—"

 

"No!" Taehyung says with newly found determination.  Even he is surprised by what just came out of his mouth.  He has never rejected his father like this before.  

 

"No?" Jin's eyes widen in surprise before narrowing in on Taehyung, "Well, then.  If that is what you want."

 

Taehyung quickly looks down at the floor to avoid Jin eyes and his shoulders tense up.  _I don't want this._

 

"It looks like _Taehyungie_ knows best," Jin says sarcastically as he rises from his seat.  " _Taehyungie's_ so grown up now.  You think you're so clever now that you've spent only _one_ day out in the real world, huh?"

 

Taehyung feels so small.   _Why is dad being this way?_

 

"Fine, if you're so sure about that girl out there," Jin takes a small tube out of his pocket and tosses it at Taehyung, its contents filled with a sparkling deep red, the same color as Taehyung's hair.  "Then give her this!"

 

Taehyung scrambles to catch the small tube with questioning eyes.  "Dad, what is this?"

 

"This is why she's here," Jin points to the tube lying in Taehyung's hand.  "She's been deceiving you right under your nose, son!  So go ahead and give it to her, watch, and you'll see!"

 

 _What does this have to do with Sooyoung?_  Taehyung thinks.

 

"Trust me, my son,"  Jin snaps his fingers, "That's how fast that girl will leave you once you find out the truth."

 

He circles the table like a vulture and Taehyung is a naïve rabbit. 

 

"Don't believe me?  Ask her about that and see what she says!" Jin goes to the door and opens it.

 

"Wait," Taehyung quickly stands and reaches out for his father.

 

Jin turns back to Taehyung and lifts a finger in the air, seeming to say something else, but he only sighs and rests his hand at his side before he closes the door shut behind him.

 

Taehyung rushes to the door and turns the doorknob, swinging it open to reveal an empty hallway.  Just as quick as Taehyung's father came, he is gone like a thief in the night.

 

Taehyung grips the tube in his hand and stands in silence.  Anxiety and curiousness knock at the forefront of Taehyung's mind.  He needs to ask Sooyoung what his father meant, but he doesn't want confrontation. 

 

_What if this is all wrong and Sooyoung ends up being upset with me?_

 

He sighs and begins to move down the hallway when someone calls out for him.

 

"Hey."

 

Taehyung stops and turns to see Seulgi in a barred cell sitting with her back against the wall, flipping a rusty coin in the air as Joohyun is asleep on the floor beside her.

 

"I don't want any trouble," Taehyung panics.

 

"You think Sooyoung is really your friend?" Seulgi says instead.

 

"She is my friend," Taehyung steadily says.

 

Seulgi catches the coin in her hand for the last time and rises from the floor.  She leans back against the wall and crosses her arms over her chest. 

 

"Yeah...  We thought she was our friend, too," Seulgi looks to Joohyun's sleeping form.  "We told her some pretty deep stuff about ourselves," she says bitterly.  "I bet you did, too.  Out there in the forest."

 

Taehyung looks to the floor.

 

"Don't put all of your trust in her.  She'll betray you just like she did us," Seulgi gravely says.

 

Taehyung quickly turns on his heels and continues walking down the hallway.  He can't listen to any more of what Seulgi is telling him.  He doesn't want to doubt Sooyoung, but—

 

"—you crazy?!  You can't make me do that!" Sooyoung's muffled yell sounds from inside of one of the other questioning rooms.

 

Taehyung quietly turns the doorknob and cracks the door open.

 

"I'm giving you two options!" Jungkook yells back.  "You either join the military or face a death penalty for stealing royal property!"

 

Sooyoung groans and sits back in her chair.

 

Out of all the books Taehyung has read, he's never seen a woman fighting alongside a man.  _Are women even allowed to be in the military?_

 

"Why are you trying to help me?" Sooyoung asks.  "Don't you want me dead?"

 

"I…  Listen, I get why you stole the crown—and I don't let people off like this—but…  I saw the look on your brother's face and how sick he looked," Jungkook sighs.  "I'm gonna be honest, we've never had a case like this before, and on top of boys from the kingdom going missing since the draft started, all my men and I are scrambling to keep this quiet so we don't alert General Min, the royal family, or the public.  The execution of a woman has never happened here, so please reconsider the choices I am giving you."

 

Sooyoung hesitantly opens her mouth, "I'll—"

 

"Sooyoung," Taehyung pushes the door open.

 

"Taehyung," she stands and rounds the table.  She grabs onto Taehyung's arm with her cuffed hands, "I heard your father bailed you out.  What are you still doing here?  You need to go back home."

 

Jungkook slowly rises from his seat and adjusts his outfit.

 

"I can't.  I can't go back to my dad right now," Taehyung shakes his head.  He really doesn't want to go back.

 

Sooyoung furrows her brows.  "What do mean—"

 

"You ever thought about joining the army?" Jungkook calmly speaks.

 

"No," Taehyung honestly says.

 

"Well, do you want to?"

 

"As long as Sooyoung comes, too."

 

"Were you listening to our conversation?" Sooyoung seethes.  "You have no idea what you are getting yourself into."

 

Jungkook walks over to Taehyung and slowly looks him up and down.  "This isn't going to be easy.  You're gonna go through some rigorous training.  Are you up for that?"

 

"Yes," Taehyung replies.

 

Sooyoung makes a frustrated noise, "Fine, I'll go, too.  What use am I dead?"

 

"Great," Jungkook says as he looks between Taehyung and Sooyoung. 

 

His eyes linger on Sooyoung for a beat longer than needed and Taehyung finds himself not liking that. 

 

Jungkook guides them into the hallway, "I'll need your signatures for the roster, and then you'll be given more information—oh, and Sooyoung," Jungkook turns back, "You'll need a disguise."  He then cocks his head, "Well, you could pass as a boy if you pull your hair back.  And your voice is pretty deep, too, so I think you'll be fine."

 

"Hey!" Sooyoung says defensively.

 

Jungkook reaches for his keys and unlocks her cuffs.  "I'm only stating facts."

 

Taehyung and Sooyoung follow Jungkook to a small office and stand before Jungkook's desk as he sits down behind it.

 

Jungkook pulls out a sheet of paper filled with names written in sloppy handwriting and smeared ink, "I'll need the both of you to sign this."  He slides the roster to the far side of his desk and places a pen on top of it, "Ladies first."

 

Sooyoung steps forward and hesitantly grabs the pen.  "What am I getting myself into," she mutters to herself as she signs her name on the sheet.  She places the pen on the table and silently steps back.

 

Taehyung's heart is racing.  He nervously fists the fabric of his trousers.  He has no idea what all this will mean to him, but if this is a way to prove his father wrong then he'll take it.

 

Taehyung breathes through his nose and steps forward and takes the pen in his hands.  He begins scratching his name above the line when he suddenly stops.

 

_"I'm Taehyung…  Just Taehyung."_

 

Why doesn't he know his last name?  Taehyung doesn't even know his father's last name. 

 

He looks at the list of names written above his and reads a plethora of last names.  _Lee's_ , _Park's,_ _Ji's_ , _Han's_ and—

 

"What's the hold-up?" Jungkook speaks.  "You don't know your own last name?"

 

Taehyung fleets his eyes to the top of the list.  _Kim_.

 

"Kim Taehyung," Taehyung tests the words on his lips.  For some reason, it resonates with him.

 

"Well, then.  Kim Taehyung, Park Sooyoung," Jungkook huffs with a small smirk as he slips the roster into a folder and places it on the table.  "Welcome to the army."

 

 

 

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

 

 

 

 

 

**PART IV : BE A MAN**

 

Sooyoung lies awake that night, she can't shake her brothers out of her head. 

 

She hopes that the money for Kiwoo's treatment wasn't confiscated by the guards. She hopes her brother isn't suffering too badly.

 

"Sooyoung?  Are you awake?"

 

Sooyoung rolls over in her cot with a soft sigh and looks over to Taehyung lying timidly under his covers.  "Right now isn't the time for deep conversations, Tae.  We have to be up early in the morning."

 

"I know, I know," Taehyung plays with the hem of his cover before he meets Sooyoung's eyes.  "I just wanted to ask...  Why didn't you tell me you had another brother?"

 

Sooyoung lies on her back and stares at the ceiling of their tent.  "I didn't want to give you something else to worry about."

 

 

 

 

 

Kinam is sent flying to the dirt.  

 

He winces at the metallic taste in his mouth.  His face is covered in purple and blue bruises and he's sure one of his ribs are fractured. 

 

Two ghostly-looking guards point their swords at Kinam and Jaehwa's heads, just daring them to make any sudden moves.

 

"And who do we have here?" a deep, raspy voice asks.

 

Kinam clenches every muscle in his body.  He doesn't dare lift his head to see the face behind the voice.  He knows it belongs to the leader of The Sevens.

 

"Imperial scouts.  Found them just over the mountain overlooking our campsite," one of the guards answers.  "Judging from the armor, it looks like their from King Kim Namjoon's army."

 

"Is that so," the raspy voice remarks as he kneels down in front of the two boys on the ground.

 

Jaehwa suddenly lifts his head and spits at the man's feet.  "The King will stop you!  You will pay for your crimes!"

 

"Stop me?  No, your king made a mistake when his family banned my people from the Kingdom!  Our ancestors have been outcasts for long enough.  It's time that we have the upper hand."

 

Sharp metal rips through the Jaehwa's chest and he sporadically coughs up blood until his body falls to the ground.  Kinam feels warm blood trickle onto his cheek and he bites his tongue to keep himself from crying out.

 

Things weren't supposed to be like this. 

 

Kinam and his friend planned to escape the draft, but they got caught just outside the city and now their kingdom's most notorious rival just killed one of them.

 

Calloused fingers roughly grip Kinam's jaw and he suddenly lifted into the air.  He wraps his hands around the man's wrist and struggles against his painful hold. 

 

Kinam frantically opens his eyes and sees that the man holding him has to be at least three times his size, and the men standing behind him look just as pale and translucent.  The man has a painful-looking cut running diagonally from the inside of his left eyebrow to corner of his mouth.  It looks recent.

 

"My name is Chan," the man cocks his head and smirks as a raven lands on his shoulder.  "Since you did so well finding us, you'll be working for me now.  Welcome to The Sevens."

 

 

 

 

 

A blaring whistle sounds through the early morning air and Taehyung wakes up with a jump.  He groans at his sudden movement and his sore muscles yell back at him. 

 

It's Taehyung's third day in boot camp and his whole body is literally  _aching_.  Even his toes are sore.  Taehyung didn't believe Jungkook when he said that the training would be rigorous, but now he does. 

 

He doesn't know if he can make himself get up.

 

He makes an attempts to roll over in his cot, and once he does, his lower vertebrate loudly cracks and he releases a dramatic sigh of relief.  He looks over to Sooyoung's cot to find it empty and he isn't surprised. She always seems to be awake before the whistle wakes them up.

 

Taehyung stands to his feet and stretches his limbs before he steps out of the tent.

 

He's only a few yards away from their shared tent when he finds Sooyoung arguing with another solder.

 

"Jimin!  You made a friend!" a soldier happily says.

 

The other soldier, Jimin, angrily turns to Sooyoung as he massages his jaw.  He clenches the collar of her shirt in his fist and throws her to the ground, "Put your hands on me again, I'll make you wish you were never born."

 

Sooyoung scoffs and swipes her foot across Jimin's ankles, making him fall onto his back.  "Well, if you didn't approach me from behind like some kind of pervert, I wouldn't have punched you," she spits back.

 

"Oh, my Jimin," the other soldier helps Jimin to his feet—with much complaint from Jimin—and he lovingly wraps his arms around Jimin's shoulders, bringing him in for a tender hug as he begins to softly sway, "Relax, and sing with me:  _Baby shark, da doo doo da-doo doo—"_

 

Taehyung pulls Sooyoung to stand and she tightens her loosened hair bun as they both warily watch the scene in front of them.

 

"I'm calm, I'm calm!  Hoseok, lemme go!" Jimin thrashes.  He pries the man's arms from around his shoulders and faces Sooyoung with a huff, "You're not worth my time anyway, kimchi face."

 

Taehyung grows angry as Jimin turns his back.  Sooyoung is the nicest person he's ever met and he is not about to let someone insult her like this. 

 

"Who are you calling kimchi face, you little chili pepper!" he yells.

 

Jimin quickly turns around and grabs Taehyung with a speed he's never seen before.  "Okay, what we're  _not_ about to do is comment on my size—"

 

"Breakfast!" a chef announces.

 

"Jimin, let's go!  All the good rice will be gone if we don't hurry!"

 

Jimin silently lets go of Taehyung with a harsh shove and he follows his friend to stand in line for food.

 

Sooyoung comes into Taehyung's view with a worried face.  "Are you alright?"

 

"Yeah, I'm okay," he replies. 

 

Taehyung is a little shaken, but he's okay.  That Jimin guy is pretty scary.  He'd rather be friends with the soldier with the bright smile.

 

"C'mon," Sooyoung leads them to the long line of soldiers waiting for food.  "Let's eat and then I'll re-braid your hair before training starts.  I'm sure I won't be as good as those girls back at the kingdom, but I'll try my best."  She runs a hand over Taehyungs loose braids, "I swear, you've woken up these past two days like you've been fighting someone in your sleep."

 

Taehyung smiles at that.

 

 

 

 

 

Jungkook enters the tent and finds Yoongi standing before a large map detailing villages and cities surrounding the Kingdom.

 

"The Sevens have stuck here, here, and there," Yoongi gestures across the map with his tasseled pointing stick.  "I'll take the main troops up into the mountains and stop Chan's men before they conquer another village.  We will also look for the two scouts I sent out a few days ago."

 

"And what do you want me to do, sir?" Jungkook asks.

 

"You will stay here," The General pours himself a cup of tea takes a short sip.  "I want you training the new recruits."

 

"What?" Jungkook raises his eyebrows.  "I thought you wanted me on the front line.  We almost caught Chan with my help last time."

 

"And you almost died at his hands after you cut his face open," Yoongi retorts.  "I know it's horrible to say this, but the troops out there are expendable, _you_ are not.  Things are tight around here and no one is in the same ranking as you at the moment."

 

"But—"

 

"You'll get your chance at Chan, I'll make sure of it when we know how close we are to catching him again," Yoongi softly says.  "You're number one in your class, Jungkook.  I know what you're capable of out there in the field, but right now we need your expert knowledge of training techniques to stay in this camp." 

 

Jungkook curtly nods his head and follows the General out of the tent.  "I won't let you down."

 

"Very well," Yoongi says as he mounts his horse.  "I expect a full report of the new recruits' progress in three weeks."

 

Jungkook watches as the main soldiers, some of his friends even, obediently follow their General out of the campsite and into the forest.  Jungkook tries to not be bitter about it, but he so badly wants to be out there fighting alongside his comrades.

 

He walks to the middle of the camp and sighs, preparing himself for the long weeks of training sessions he's about to lead.

 

 

 

 

 

Sooyoung is almost done braiding Taehyung's hair when one of the soldiers from earlier plops down across from them at their table with a half-empty tray and resumes eating.

 

"Hey, Jimin!  Over here," the man waves his chopsticks in the air.

 

Jimin glares at him as he refills his cup with water and reluctantly walks over to sit at the table.

 

"We didn't get to properly introduce ourselves earlier.  My name is Jung Hoseok," he introduces himself before he slaps a hand over Jimin's shoulder, "And this hot-head is Park Jimin."  Jimin scowls _why did you have to tell them my whole name_  as Hoseok continues with a light smile, "But you can call me Jay."

 

"Is 'Jay' short for your surname?" Sooyoung asks with a raised eyebrow.

 

"No, It's short for Hoseok."

 

Sooyoung's hands still in Taehyung's hair and Taehyung dumbly looks at the man.

 

"Jesus Christ," Jimin groans into his cup before he sets it down on the table, "Just call him by his government name."

 

"So what are your names?" Hoseok asks.

 

Sooyoung ties off the end of Taehyung's hair and turns to the men sitting opposite of them as Taehyung says, "I'm Taehyung and this is Sooyou—I mean, um, S-Soochung!  Yeah, her—I mean his name is Soochung, because he _is_ a boy, and boys have...boy-names," he mumbles towards the end.

 

Taehyung and Sooyoung side-eye each other.  Taehyung is still getting used to lying.

 

"Nice names!" Hoseok smiles.

 

"Mhm, that's me.  I'm Soochung," Sooyoung's new name slips off her tongue like she almost hates it.  

 

_Couldn't he have picked a better name!?_

 

"Jimin, I would like to apologize for earlier.  You know how us _guys_ are," she awkwardly elbows Taehyung and he quickly nods in agreement, "We just get these, uh, manly urges to get into fights, you know...  And fix things for your lady, grill meat outdoors—"

 

"Whatever.  Just stop rambling like that," Jimin says.

 

"Jimin and I got drafted from a village not too far from the Kingdom.  It's called Gwanju, do you know it?"

 

Jimin looks at Hoseok.  " _Why are you telling them all of our information_ —"

 

"So where are you guys from?"

 

"We're both actually from the Kingdom," Sooyoung lies for Taehyung.

 

Hoseok claps his hands.  "Oh, wow!  So you've seen the King and Queen in person?!"

 

"Just a handful of times," Sooyoung smiles.  "And from a distance," she quickly adds.

 

"That is so cool," Hoseok says as he takes the bite of his food.  "Our village got to participate in the fire lantern festival this year.  I bet it was awesome seeing it firsthand in the Kingdom."

 

"It really was," Taehyung longingly says.  

 

He wishes he could go back, just him and Sooyoung and all the soft lights around them.

 

A sharp whistle blows through the air, signaling all of the soldiers to gather at the far end of the campsite for training. 

 

Taehyung internally groans.  He better stretch.

 

 

 

"Order, order!" one of the lower ranking officers yells over the rowdy soldiers. 

 

"I'd like a serving of pan-fried ddeokbokki!" a soldier loudly teases.

 

"Ooh!" another soldier joins, "And jjajangmyeon!!"

 

"With sweet and spicy shrimp!"

 

"Do you all think this is a joke?!" a voice suddenly roars, quieting the crowd.  

 

The Lieutenant General appears out of nowhere with a scowl on his face, more officers trail behind him carrying barrels of wooden staffs, arrows, and bows.

 

"Stand in line," Jungkook growls.

 

Taehyung visibly gulps, quickly falling in line with the other soldiers and he stands beside Sooyoung.

 

"I will be training you all from here on out as your commanding officer," Jungkook stands with his hands behind his back with perfect posture.  "Due to the short notice of taking on this position, I am not informed of the what the other officers have been teaching you the last three days, but since I am here today, think of this as _day one_ of boot camp," he smirks.

 

Taehyung can literally feel the soldiers near him wanting to groan. 

 

Jungkook is rumored to be the best soldier in the Kingdom's army, there's no telling what training with him will be like.

 

"Unlike this morning," Jungkook continues, "You all will line up here in this very exact spot every morning, swiftly and silently.  There is no time for jokes and rowdiness when you're out in the field.  There's no coming back to your mother's cooking when you have been killed in combat.  So if you fail to comply with my orders, you will have to deal with me."

 

Jimin scoffs and rolls his eyes.  "Tough guy," he mutters under his breath.

 

"Shoot," Jungkook calmly says, and an officer bares his bow and arrow at one of the tall wooden poles overlooking the camp.  At the sound of the soft _thunk_ of the arrow embedding itself in the wood, Jungkook turns to Jimin.  "Mr. Park, thank you for being so chivalrous and volunteering yourself this morning!"

 

"What—" Jimin starts.

 

"Climb the pole and retrieve the arrow."

 

Jimin breathes through his nose as he cracks his neck and walks over to the pole, "Fine.  I'll get your stupid arrow."

 

The commanding officer clicks his tongue and gestures for an officer holding an open box to follow him as he walks follows Jimin, "You seem to be forgetting something."  Jungkook pulls two heavy, black weights by their straps out of the box and he offers one of them to Jimin.  

 

Jimin instantly buckles his knees to accommodate the sudden weight.

 

"This," Jungkook points to weight in Jimin's right hand, "Represents discipline.  And this one represents strength," he says to the soldiers as he gives the other weight to Jimin.  "You'll have to use both to successfully retrieve the arrow."

 

Jimin almost falls to the ground as he holds both of the weights and Hoseok and a few other soldiers lightly laugh at the bulging vein in Jimin's neck. 

 

Jimin attempts to climb the pole, but begins to slip due to the added weight hanging on his hands.  He falls back to his feet in frustration.

 

"It seems like your lacking in strength and discipline, Park.  Who's next?" Jungkook says as he takes the weights from Jimin with ease. 

 

Jimin takes his place back in line next to Hoseok as Jungkook's eyes follow him. 

 

"How about the soldier you were fighting with this morning?" his eyes scan the crowd until he finds Sooyoung and he walks over to her with mischief in his eyes.  "And your name is?"

 

Sooyoung crosses her arms over her chest.  "Park Soochung."

 

" _Soochung_ , huh," the commanding officer almost laughs.  "How about you give it a try."

 

Sooyoung glares at Jungkook as he hands over the weights.  She sucks in a quick breath at the weight, but she's not straining as much as Jimin.

 

She walks over to the pole and looks to the arrow at the top of the pole before she suddenly sits.

 

Mumbled questions among the soldiers rise in the air as Sooyoung begins to tie the straps near the shape of the weights together.  She stands and places the weights on the other side of the pole before she walks around to the other side and grabs for the straps, letting the pole stand between them.

 

With all her might, she throws the weights upward and quickly jumps to place her feet on either side of the pole.  She repeats the motion as she shimmies her way up the wooden pole with muted grunts.

 

Taehyung's jaw drops to the floor and Hoseok loudly gasps in amazement as Sooyoung slightly slips due to the weights, but she quickly gains back her composure.

 

Sooyoung is almost to the top of the pole and Taehyung has to shield his eyes from the sun with his hands as he continues to watch her.

 

She drops the weights once she reaches the top and she pulls out the arrow.  The soldiers loudly cheer as she slides down halfway before she completely lets go of the pole to land on her feet.

 

Sooyoung wipes the sweat from her forehead and smooths her damp, stray baby hairs behind her ears as she returns to a speechless Jungkook, "You wanted your arrow, didn't you?" and tosses the arrow at him sideways.

 

"G-good work," Jungkook stumbles as he catches it.  He looks between the arrow in his hand and Sooyoung in astonishment.  "Get back in line," he weakly gestures.

 

Taehyung almost laughs at him.  No one underestimates Sooyoung. 

 

He playfully elbows and Sooyoung when she stands at his side.  He leans over with a bright smile and whispers, "That was so awesome!  Sooyoung, you're amazing!"

 

Sooyoung slightly blushes under the compliments.  "Thank you."

 

 

 

It's the end of the second week of training and the competitive atmosphere is starting to get to everyone. 

 

Sooyoung has noticed Taehyung has been excessively hovering over her as the training gets more complex.  She liked his doting nature at first, but now it's starting to get under her skin.

 

Sooyoung has been teaching Taehyung all she knows about hand-to-hand combat.  She's glad Taehyung is a quick learner, so she hopes she can spar with someone else other than Taehyung all the time.  

 

They recently received their military-issued swords and Taehyung (carefully) waves it around like it's his cooking skillet.  They're laughing about their encounter in the forest with Seulgi and Joohyun when they hear a pained groan.

 

Hoseok lands on his butt and holds his jaw, tears are almost welling in his eyes, "What the heck, Jimin!  Chill out!  Hit me any harder and I just might black out."

 

Jimin stands over him with frustration in his eyes, "Officer Jeon told us to stop holding back our punches!  We need to be prepared for war, Hoseok.  We aren't play-fighting like we used to when we were children!"

 

"Switch partners!" Jungkook yells from across the field.

 

Jimin moves to help Hoseok up but the older man avoids Jimin's outstretched hand before he silently stands and walks away to find another sparring partner.

 

Taehyung waves Hoseok over with a small smile before they begin to lightly spar with one another.

 

The sadness in Jimin's eyes disappears when he finds Sooyoung standing before him. 

 

"Don't wanna hold back your punches?  Spar with me," Sooyoung says as she gets into her fighting stance.  "I'm not your friend, so I won't feel the need to go easy on you."

 

Taehyung warily looks between the two before he gives his full attention back to Hoseok.

 

"Looks like I finally get to have my revenge for that punch last week," he smirks.

 

"We'll see about that."

 

Jimin launches himself at Sooyoung and attempts to throw his first punch, but Sooyoung blocks his fist with her arm and kicks her foot her out.  Jimin grabs her by the calf and pulls it to his chest before he throws her to ground.

 

"Get up!" Jimin moves to kick her while she's down, but Sooyoung swiftly rolls over avoid her ribs getting kicked in.

 

"Jimin, you're going too far!" Hoseok yells.

 

"Mind your own business!" Jimin hisses back as he turns to face him.

 

Sooyoung stands to her feet while Jimin is distracted and clotheslines him from behind.  They fall to the ground with Jimin on his stomach and Sooyoung scrambles to straddle his lower back.  She holds his head against the grass with one hand while the other reaches to twist his arm up and behind his back.

 

Jimin yells out in pain before he surrenders.  "I tap out, I tap out!"

 

Sooyoung lets him go and stands over his still form before she turns to walk away.  Jimin suddenly gets up and tackles an expecting Sooyoung to the ground.  He flips Sooyoung over and punches her in the face twice, hard. 

 

She can hear yelling in the background, but her ears are ringing.

 

Jimin punches her again _and again and again_ as Sooyoung covers her face with her arms, but Jimin just keeps landing blow after blow on her bones.

 

"Stop!" Taehyung sees red as he runs over to the two and snatches Jimin by his shirt and pulls him off of Sooyoung's body.  "We aren't supposed to be fighting like this!"

 

"Don't touch me!" Jimin screams as he pries Taehyung's hands away from his shirt.

 

Hoseok grabs his friend by his shoulders with concern in his eyes, "Jimin, what has gotten into you lately?"

 

"I said don't touch me!" Jimin harshly shoves Hoseok and stumbles away from him.

 

"Enough!" Jungkook yells and everyone stills.  He walks forward and places his hands on his hips before he jerks his chin at Sooyoung.  "Soochung, go see a nurse."

 

Sooyoung stands to her feet and angrily brushes off stray blades of grass from her uniform, "I'm fine."

 

"Obviously not," Jungkook chides.  "Your nose is bleeding.  Go see a nurse.  That's an order, not a request."

 

Sooyoung curses under her breath and turns to head to the medical tent.  She casts one last look at Jimin before she leaves.

 

Jungkook then faces Jimin, "Park, go see the counselor.  You apparently can't control your emotions during hand-to-hand combat."

 

"Fine," Jimin huffs as he turns his back to the commanding officer.

 

"I'm not done talking to you.  Turn in your sword.  You're suspended from training until further notice."

 

The soldiers crowding around them gasp as Jimin silently unbuckles his belt and reluctantly hands in his sword.  He runs an angry hand through his hair and strides away from the scene.

 

Jungkook looks around at the soldiers staring at him.  "Training session's over.  Eat lunch and meet back here in an hour for another session.  Go!"

 

 

 

 

 

The air between Hoseok and Taehyung is heavy as they eat their lunch.  Hoseok is visibly upset and the redhead knows better than to comment on it.

 

He eats his lunch faster than he usually does and is startled when a sharp whistle sounds for the next session.  Taehyung wants to check Sooyoung, she didn't even come to get any food.

 

Taehyung runs opposite of the crowd and heads to the medical tent.  He pulls the cloth open as a nurse exits out of the tent.  He ducks his head and enters the room, spotting Sooyoung sitting on a gurney and absently running her fingers over the fabric wrapped around her bruised forearms.

 

Taehyung walks forward and gently takes her arms in his hands, checking over the damage Jimin was able to achieve.  Her jaw is heavily bruised and there's a small cut on her lip.

 

"Are you okay?  I was so worried!  Jimin was just _beating_  on you, he doesn't know that you're a girl and you couldn't do anything—"

 

_You couldn't do anything._

 

"Get off of me!" Sooyoung makes an irritated noise and pushes Taehyung to the floor.  She climbs on top of him as she unsheathes her sword and places it at his neck, "Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean you have to treat like I'm sort of fragile object!  We're about to go to _war_ , Taehyung.  You can't keep hovering around me every second of the day!"

 

Taehyung goes still under Sooyoung's weight.  "I-I'm sorry!  I just wanted to make sure you're safe and—"

 

"I've been doing just ﬁne on my own!" she hollers over him.

 

Taehyung lies there with his mouth hanging open, trying to ﬁnd something to say, but nothing comes.

 

Sooyoung rises and Taehyung releases the breath he didn't realize he was holding.  Before Taehyung can move to stand up with her, she suddenly points her blade in his face.

 

"Remember I had a life before I ran into you, Tae," she says sadly as she tucks her sword away.

 

The entrance to the tent opens and a sweaty Jungkook enters. 

 

"Taehyung, what are you doing in here?" he asks sternly.  "You should be outside training with the rest of the men!"

 

 

 

Taehyung only sees the back side of Sooyoung for the rest of the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 **PART V :** **DARK SIDE OF THE MOON**

 

"Sir, we just got word that the Kingdom's army is planning an attack on us.  What should we do?"

 

"We wait," Chan simply says with his hands resting at his back.

 

The Sevens have captured another small village and instead of taking the people hostage, Chan has ordered his men to set the village to flames.

 

Chan watches as his men dump the last of oil barrels around the straw huts.  He ignores the shouting and yelling coming from the village people before him.  He knows that they're scared and they should be.

 

"We'll let them come to us," Chan tosses his tosses his torch into the oil and turns on his heel as the screams begin.

 

 

 

 

 

To say Taehyung is jealous is an understatement. 

 

Taehyung wouldn't say that he's jealous about the fact that Sooyoung has been sitting with everyone else but him during every meal of the day, Taehyung wouldn't say that he's jealous of the fact that other soldiers have been getting more attention from Sooyoung than he has, and Taehyung _absolutely_ would not say that he's jealous of the fact that Sooyoung has been spending more time with Commanding Officer Jeon. 

 

To say that he's envious would better fit how he's feeling right now.

 

Jungkook is all muscle and embodies confidence and Taehyung wishes he had that too since Sooyoung seems to like him so much.

 

Jungkook must have said something funny at his dinner table because the soldiers are suddenly laughing and Sooyoung smacks his big bicep when Taehyung is pulled out of his thoughts when he feels a harsh tug on his scalp.

 

"Ow, I'm tender-headed!  I thought you said you have a younger sister," Taehyung winces as he rubs his scalp.

 

"Just because I told you I have a sister doesn't mean I know how to braid," Hoseok defends himself. 

 

Taehyung feels the weight of his hair plop against his back and Hoseok leans his elbow over the table. 

 

"Doesn't Soochung usually help you with your hair?  Why didn't you ask him to do it." 

 

Taehyung turns in his seat with a sigh.  He barely ate half of the food on his tray.  He silently slides it over for Hoseok to finish.

 

"You and Soochung are fighting, huh?" Hoseok asks in between bites.  "I can tell."

 

"Sh— _he_ yelled at me the other day.  He told me I was 'hovering' him," Taehyung quotes with his fingers, "Whatever that means."

 

Hoseok burps and pushes the empty tray away.  "You two spend a lot of time together.  Must be really close."

 

"Yeah, we are," and Taehyung leaves it at that and looks back to Jungkook's table.  He wonders if he should give Sooyoung space or actually go talk to her because he really does miss her.

 

Sooyoung meets his eyes for a split second before she begins talking to Jungkook again.  She rests her hand on his shoulder and smiles as she speaks. 

 

Taehyung's blood boils.

 

He clenches his jaw and stands as a whistle blows to signal that dinner is over, and all the soldiers begin to leave their tables and put away their trays.  Taehyung watches as Jungkook says something to Sooyoung, she nods and hands him her tray before she begins to walk away.

 

Without any thought, Taehyung strides over to Sooyoung and gently grabs her wrist, pulling her away from the tables and behind a tent.  

 

He places his hands on his hips when turns back to her.  "What were you doing just now?"

 

"Um, eating?" Sooyoung replies as she crosses her arms. 

 

"No, I meant what were you doing just now with Officer Jeon," Taehyung clarifies.

 

"We were just talking.  He's actually really nice if you got to know him instead of glaring at him every second of the day."

 

Taehyung blanches at her words.  He didn't know Sooyoung noticed that. 

 

He composes himself before he asks, "Were you flirting with him?  Do you like him?"

 

She almost laughs, "Taehyung, do you even what flirting is?"

 

"Yes," he quietly responds.  "I read about it somewhere in a book!"

 

Sooyoung eyes him and steps forward almost caging Taehyung against the tent.  "And so what if I was?  There are plenty of other guys here to flirt with," she baits him with a small smirk playing on her lips.

 

Taehyung's eyes widen at that.  He's supposed to be in control of this conversation, not Sooyoung. 

 

He takes her bait anyways.

 

Taehyung lowers his head.  "I wouldn't like that...  I wouldn't like it at all," he says truthfully.

 

Sooyoung takes another step into his bubble.  "And why not?" her voice small.

 

"B-because I like you," and Taehyung squeezes his eyes closed shut and braces himself for the worst.  He waits for her to leave, to hit him even, but nothing comes but silence. 

 

He's positive Sooyoung doesn't see him the same way he sees her.  She may be the only girl he's had full-on conversations with, but all he can see is her.  Even if he met those scary girls in the forest, even if he saw all those pretty women in the Kingdom, all he sees is Sooyoung.

 

"God, that's all I wanted to hear!" Sooyoung suddenly exasperates.

 

_What?_

 

"Taehyung, do you know how long I've been waiting for you to say that?  Not to be mean, but you are really obvious and _very_ easy to read.  I already knew you liked me, I was just waiting for you to say it."

 

"W-what?  I thought you were upset with me!"

 

"Well, yeah, I was.  You kept hovering over me and it was really annoying."

 

"I'm sorry about that," Taehyung says sheepishly.

 

Sooyoung airily chuckles and smiles at the boy in front of her, "Just for the record, I like you too."

 

Taehyung internally screams.  "You do?!  Since when!?"

 

"Since that night at that the festival," she gently says.  "You just had this look in your eyes when the lanterns started to fill the sky...  And then you looked at me with that same look, and you," Sooyoung pauses with a hint of blush creeping onto her cheeks, "And you might have given me a new dream to dream up." 

 

Taehyung's heart is racing.  "What about Officer Jeon?"

 

"What about him?" Sooyoung scoffs.  "He's way too cocky for my taste."

 

They both laugh, the tension from the past few days evaporating from the air around them.

 

"Just give me space during the training sessions," she reminds him.  "I'm capable of handing myself around all these stupid guys."

 

"Okay," Taehyung agrees.

 

 

 

 

 

Things go back to normal after that, except for the fact that Taehyung and Sooyoung are closer than before. 

 

They take their time.  Neither of them has been in a relationship, but this is all new to Taehyung.  Sooyoung wakes him before the morning whistle so they can practice how to not be obvious about their new relationship in public. 

 

She goes back to braiding his hair because  _you look like an absolute mess_.  They even compromised to spar with different people during their training sessions.

 

It's almost the end of the third week when Jimin is allowed to train again.  The air is tense when walks straight to Sooyoung with his hands clenched.  Sooyoung braces herself before she sees Jimin hold out his hand in reconciliation. 

 

He tells her the rigorous training was getting to his head and that he's sorry for taking it out on her.  Hoseok welcomes his childhood soul mate with open arms, and the four of them are now friends.

 

Jungkook is watching his soldiers practice shooting arrows when the doors to the campsite burst open.  The Imperial soldiers ride in on their horses with other men carrying wounded bodies on bloody cots in tow.

 

Jungkook runs over, eyes scanning over the chaos as he looks for the General.  He sighs in relief when he spots Yoongi limping through the gates with the help of another soldier.  He's covered in cuts and ash. 

 

"I got him," Jungkook says to the soldier as he slips his arm across Yoongi's back.

 

Yoongi shakes his head when he notices Jungkook is walking him the direction of the medical tent.  "I don't need to see a doctor.  I just have a bruised rib.  Take me to my tent," he huffs.

 

Jungkook knows better than to argue, so he does as he's told. 

 

They remain silent until they enter the confines of Yoongi's tent.  Yoongi gently pushes Jungkook's arm away and he hobbles over to his cot.  He grunts as he lays atop the bed and he breathes ruggedly through his nose.

 

Jungkook walks over to the other side of the tent when he stops and stares at the cork board hanging above Yoongi's desk.  He still has the drawings Jungkook drew for him as a child.  They're worn from time, but they're hung neatly side by side.   

 

"Dad," Jungkook says as he pours some water from a pitcher into a bowl and grabs a rag.  He moves to sit on the edge of his father's bed and begins to clean the dried blood and dirt from Yoongi's face.  "Don't you think it's time you lead from the headquarters instead of fighting on the front line?"

 

"Jungkook, we already talked about this."

 

"And you always give me the same answer," Jungkook says to him.  "You always come back with some kind of injury, and it takes longer for you to heal each time.  I'm not trying to call you old," he raises his hand before his father can speak, "But you're not as young as you used to be.  As your son, how am I not supposed to worry?"

 

Yoongi sighs and says nothing for a long time.  "...We spotted Chan.  He's a few miles just past the mountains.  He was waiting for us.  His men got to us first.  We did some damage to them and tried to save most of the people from the village as it burned down, but his men did worse to us."

 

"We can send the recruits out there.  They're ready, I can lead them out there now and—"

 

"Slow down, Jungkook," Yoongi silences his son as he closes his eyes out of tiredness.  "We need to have a briefing before we go back out there.  You know this."

 

Jungkook internally curses himself at his impulsiveness.  Being the army's Lieutenant General can be difficult when family is involved.  He knows his father feels the same way.

 

He cleans the last of the blood from Yoongi's face and wrings out the dirty rag.  The water is a nasty mixture of brown and red. 

 

"You never answered my question."

 

Yoongi is almost asleep, but he cracks an eye open at his son.  "We'll talk about it after the war."

 

"But—"

 

"Just let me have this, son," Yoongi sighs.  "You'll know how this feels when you're my age.  Hopefully, you'll have settled down by then," he sleepily smiles.

 

"Okay," Jungkook quietly says.

 

 

 

 

 

"Sooyoung!" Taehyung almost shouts with his back facing her, "This isn't a good idea.  What if someone sees you!"

 

Crickets loudly chip into the night's sky and the pond they found outside of the camp is secluded by a light fog and the shade of a few trees.

 

Sooyoung stands behind a patch of high grass and takes off her training uniform.  "Just because I look like a boy doesn't mean I have to smell like one," she remarks as she undoes her hair.  "Besides, no one's around except you, which is a little questionable if you ask me."

 

Taehyung blushes at that.  He tries not to think of Sooyoung being naked a few feet away from him. 

 

"I'm just making sure you're safe," he can feel her eyes on him, "I-I'm not hovering!"

 

Taehyung hears a few footsteps and the splashing of water before he moves to fold Sooyoung's dirty clothes.  He gives her a few moments before he closes his eyes steps as close as he can to the pond's edge as he hands Sooyoung a towel. 

 

"I think that's enough bathing," he warily says, "Let's go before someone comes!"

 

Sooyoung rolls her eyes. "Taehyung, just go stand over there and keep watch.  I'll be out in a few minutes."

 

"Over here, Jimin!" Hoseok's voice sounds in the distance.

 

"Why can't we just bathe with the other guys?" Jimin sighs.  "And where in the world is this pond you're talking about?  We've been walking forever!"

 

"It's just over here, come on!  It'll be just like that time we went skinny dipping with our friends back in the village," he laughs.

 

"Yeah, that was pretty fun."

 

Taehyung whips his back to the pond to alert Sooyoung before he feels a soft hand on his shoulder.

 

"Oh, Taehyung!  You know about this pond too?" Hoseok smiles as he looks over the redhead's shoulder.  "Jimin, Soochung is here too!"

 

Before Taehyung can say anything, Hoseok rips off his clothes and jumps into the water with a loud splash. 

 

Sooyoung hides her body behind a tall rock in the pond and wraps her arms around it as she smiles at Hoseok. 

 

Taehyung seems to be more worried about Sooyoung's secret than she is.

 

"Aren't you getting in?" Jimin says from behind.  "I'm sure you smell too.  The training session before dinner left us all pretty ripe."

 

Taehyung closes his eyes as Jimin bends down to take off his underwear.  "How are you all so bold," he whispers to himself.

 

Taehyung has never been naked in front of strangers.  He always waits until all the soldiers are done bathing before he goes to clean himself.

 

Jimin walks into the water and briefly dunks his hair below the surface before he brushes it back.

 

"Come on, Tae!  The water feels awesome!" Hoseok yells.

 

"Yeah, why don't you take off your clothes and joins us, hm?" Sooyoung playfully chirps at Taehyung as Hoseok and Jimin splash each other.

 

Under the pressure of his peers, Taehyung slowly takes off his clothes, earning a sultry whistle from Hoseok.  He jumps behind the tall grass to take off his underwear and quickly runs into the water before anyone can see his private parts.

 

"Are you cold?  Your nipples look hard," Hoseok points out.

 

Taehyung let out an embarrassing sound as he cups his nipples, "Stop looking!"

 

"Well, it looks like I had my fun for the night," Sooyoung yawns.  "I'll head out first.  Do you guys mind closing your eyes as I get out?  I'm a little shy," she smiles.

 

All three boys close their eyes as Sooyoung gets out and Taehyung is relieved that they're not in the space without clothes anymore.

 

"I'm glad you and Soochung made up," Hoseok says when Sooyoung leaves the area.  He combs his fingers through his wet hair.

 

"Yeah, me too," Taehyung smiles.

 

 

 

Sooyoung makes it back to her and Taehyung's tent without getting caught in just her towel.  She lights a candle before she puts her dirty clothes away and puts on her pajamas. 

 

She looks over to Taehyung's side of the tent to finds that it is a mess.  She moves to put away his dirty clothes from yesterday with hers when she sees a soft red light coming from under his cot. 

 

Sooyoung knows better than to snoop through Taehyung's things, but something tells her to anyway.

 

Sooyoung glances at the entrance to the tent before she lowers herself to her knees and bends over to reach under the cot to pull out Taehyung's back.

 

She plops down on her butt and crisscrosses her legs as she reaches into the bag for the red light.  Her fingers wrap around the tube before she cups her hand over mouth. 

 

Sooyoung knows exactly what this is.

 

It's the healing medicine she set out to look for when she left home.  Sooyoung got word that a man that had medicine that cures any illness, but he lived in a tower far out into the woods and she would have to find him on her own.  Then she ran into Seulgi and Joohyun...

 

And Taehyung had the answer to her little brother's problem all along— _but Taehyung's dad is the man in the tower with the medicine._

 

Sooyoung pulls the tube completely out of the bag and she angrily stands just as Taehyung enters the tent.

 

"Look at my fingers, Sooyoung!  They look just like raisins—" Taehyung falters at the glowing tube in Sooyoung's hand.

 

"You had this the whole time...and you didn't even tell me."

 

Taehyung's mouth silently hangs open.  "Let me explain—"

 

"How long have you been kept this in that stupid bag?!" Sooyoung raises her voice. 

 

"My dad," Taehyung swallows, "H-he gave it to me before we signed the papers to join the military a few weeks ago."

 

"And you didn't think to tell me!"

 

"If I told you, you'd leave me!" Taehyung yells back.  He knows what he said is selfish, but he doesn't care.  He points at the tube, "You came to my tower for this, right?  You were going to make a deal with my dad, weren't you?"

 

Sooyoung's eyes widen.

 

"But I got in your way, right?" Taehyung scoffs.  "What if Seulgi and Joohyun ran with the crown instead of you?  Were you gonna use me to get what you wanted from my dad?"

 

"You're so selfish.  I wouldn't have left you and I wouldn't have used you like that," Sooyoung says as tears well in her eyes.  "I took you to that festival out of kindness, but I should have left you trapped in that tower with that bad man."

 

"What are talking about?"

 

"Taehyung, what do you think your father was out doing the day we met?"

 

"H-he goes to work every day and tells me to stay home until he returns," he rattles off.

 

"Wrong," Sooyoung solemnly says as she sits on her bed.  "It took me a while, but I think I finally put two and two together."  She rolls the tube in her hand before she speaks again.  "I met your father the day before I left home, he looked a lot younger then.  Told me he had a potion that could cure all illnesses, all I had to do was give him money.  He told me to meet him outside of his tower for the exchange.  I stole the crown and then I ran into you while I was getting away from Seulgi and Joohyun."

 

"I thought the exchange fell through so broke the window of your tower in hopes of just stealing the medicine while your father wasn't there," she continues.  "When you told me to hide, I got a good look at him.  He looked familiar, but at the same time, he didn't.  Things clicked when you used your hair to fix my hand...  He uses you, doesn't he, Taehyung, to make him young over and over again."

 

Sooyoung doesn't wait for him to answer.

 

"He never wanted you to leave that tower because of what your hair can do.  He wants to keep your power for himself and extract whatever he can from your hair to make money off of it.  I bet he isn't your real father either, you two look nothing alike.  He must have taken you away from someone."

 

"S-stop," Taehyung says his voice small.  "That's not true.  My dad—we love each other, he wouldn't do that to me."

 

"You don't have to believe me," Sooyoung shrugs.  "You think I've been using you this whole time."

 

A whistle suddenly sounds through the air.

 

Sooyoung and Taehyung stay staring at each other, their tent is full of tension. 

 

The sound of soldiers running to the middle of the campsite surrounds them. 

 

Sooyoung is the first to move.  She puts the glowing tube on Taehyung's cot and silently brushes passed him on her way out of the tent.

 

Taehyung blinks before he feels his feet move.  He follows the rest of the soldiers to where Jungkook and the General are standing.

 

"Everyone, gear up," Jungkook announces.  "We're going to war."

 

 

 

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

 

 

 

 

 

 **PART VI :**   **A GIRL** **WORTH FIGHTING FOR**

 

Smoke.

 

It's all Taehyung can see and it's all he can smell.

 

General Min and Lieutenant General Jeon lead their brigades through one of the many villages that the Sevens have managed to burn down.  Stone and brick are burned to dry rubble, and the wooden foundation of what used to be homes are now charred and brittle.

 

Taehyung forces the muscles in his throat to still before he can cough aloud.  He adjusts his helmet as he pulls the loose scarf wrapped around his neck, from under his armored suit, up and over his nose.

 

Jungkook's horse stridently neighs as he rounds back to his division, and his men, including Taehyung, stand at attention.

 

"Search the area for survivors," Jungkook instructs as he and some of the other officers turn their horses to begin searching the perimeter.

 

General Min barks orders for his men to scout the area leading into the neighboring village nearby before he trots away on his horse.  Taehyung catches a short glimpse of Sooyoung before she is swallowed by the crowd following the general.

 

Taehyung has no idea how to feel right now.  His father told him one thing and Sooyoung told him another.  He doesn't know whether the information he's been given is a lie or if it's all true.

 

_Dad wouldn't lie to me...  But neither would Sooyoung..._

 

Taehyung shakes his head, burying the conflicting thoughts in the back of his mind for later before he looks to the horse towing a wagon beside him and gently ruffles its dark mane.

 

"What would you do if you were me, hm?" Taehyung asks the steed.  When he receives a bored huff from the animal in return, he gives up on the obvious one-sided conversation.

 

Taehyung spots Hoseok not too far off in a burned down house and he jogs to the older man.  He winces at every hard _crunch_ of burned debris beneath his thick boots.

 

Hoseok squats down and picks up a raggedy doll.  The doll's limbs fall right off at his touch and its faux hair is scorched all the way to the roots.

 

"There were children here," Hoseok sighs dejectedly as he softly runs his thumb over the space where a buttoned eye should be.  "I don't understand how someone can be cruel."

 

Taehyung has never heard of the Sevens before his life in the tower, but he silently vows to put a stop to them if this is how they treat innocent people.  A bout of nervousness runs through his belly at the thought of that. 

 

Taehyung has been trained to defend himself in combat, he's even been trained to kill, but when the time comes to take someone else's life...would he be able to do it?

 

He sighs and leaves Hoseok's side to make his way over to another ruined house.  Taehyung ducks his head and steps though the blown-out wall on the side of structure.  As he walks further into the house, he finds that the inside is completely charred black and wisps of ashes cover the wooden floors.

 

Just as Taehyung is making his way down a small hallway, a strong hand unexpectedly grabs him by the arm and pulls him into a side room.  Before Taehyung can make any effort to scream, a cloaked figure stands in front of him and clamps his hand over Taehyung's mouth.

 

"It's me, Taehyung!  It's just me," Jin says as he takes his hands off the younger and raises them in the air, showing that he isn't a threat.  He takes off his hood, revealing a pair of worrisome eyes. 

 

Taehyung sees his father's face then, and his mouth runs a little dry.  This is the oldest that Taehyung has ever seen his father.  Jin's hair is graying, the corners of his eyes carry the visible signs of crow's feet, and his skin sags with heavy wrinkles.

 

"Are you alright, son?  It's been so hard watching you," Jin desperately whispers. "You have no idea how many times I wanted to scoop you up and take you back home with me!" 

 

"What?" Taehyung's furrows his eyebrows at that.  "You've been watching me?"

 

"Of course I have!" Jin walks around him to close the door to the room shut.  "What kind of father would I be to not worry about his child?"

 

"Then you should know exactly what I'm capable of," Taehyung tells him as he crosses his arms over his chest.  "Why are you treating me like a baby?  The people I'm with are about to put an end to the war."

 

"And this little army you have been running around with is no benefit to you.  Look at you," Jin scoffs as he gestures to Taehyung's worn hands.  "Your skin is covered in busted calluses and bruises!"

 

"My hands are like this is because of you," Taehyung accuses his father as he shakes his head.  "I wouldn't have left like I did if you just would have me let go see the lights!  You never let leave that tower no matter how many times I asked."

 

"I was doing my job as a father, which is to protect my son," Jin says lowly.  "You're not meant to be out here like this!"

 

"Protecting?  Is that what you want to call it?  You only want to keep me to use me.  Sooyoung told me the truth!" Taehyung tells him.  "You only kept me hidden because you wanted my power all to yourself, so you could sell my gift off to next person!  I should have been hiding for you—"

 

"And where would you hide, hm?" Jin curtly interrupts, dodging Taehyung's accusations.  "With your so-called lover?  You should forget about her, Taehyung.  She may serve her time in the army, but she'll be exiled from the Kingdom for stealing royal property if she lives through this war."

 

Taehyung's eyes widen at that and he takes a step back, "Exiled?"

 

"Hush, hush," Jin says as he reaches out for him.  He gives Taehyung a tight smile, "Everything will go back to normal once we're home and she's out of the picture."

 

"No," Taehyung jerks away from Jin's touch.  "You're wrong about Sooyoung, you were wrong about the world, and you are wrong about me!" he shouts, "I'm not going back with you and I will _never_ let you use my hair again!"

 

Silence falls over them and they both just look at each other for a long time.  Invisible tension and the thin residue of ashes are the only things that stand between them.  

 

Jin has an unreadable look on his face and Taehyung thinks that he finally got through to his father.

 

Jin steps away from and walks to the door.  He rests his hand on the broken doorknob before he sadly turns back to Taehyung, "I only wanted to live a long time so I could love you like any other father would, Taehyung.  And all I wanted in return was for you to do the same for me," and with that Jin opens the door and silently pulls it closed behind him.

 

Taehyung's heart sinks.  He thinks he'll never know the whole truth about his father, but he knows that Jin truly does love him.

 

Taehyung moves for the door and he swings it open, only to reveal a small gust of ashes from the sudden movement of the door and footsteps leading out of hole on the side of house.  Before Taehyung can even think about following his father, a voice brings him out of his thoughts.

 

"Over here!" Jimin suddenly yells in the distance.  "I-I found someone!"

 

Taehyung rushes towards Jimin's voice and he finds that Jungkook is first one on the scene as Hoseok and a few other soldiers run to Jimin's panicked call.  The Lieutenant General jumps off of his horse and kneels down next to Jimin before a soot-covered man jumps into Jungkook's arms.

 

"Th-the S-Sevens!" the man coughs into Jungkook's chest.  "They were here!" he screams, his eyes wide with terror.

 

Jungkook pulls the terrified man back to arm's length as he tries to calm him down.  "Just breathe.  You're safe now.  The Imperial army is here," Jungkook tells him before he directs one his soldiers to bring over a canteen of water. 

 

As soon as the man gets his hands on the liquid, he gulps down the water like he's been parched for weeks.

 

Jungkook takes the metal canteen from the man's hands before he can choke on the water.  "Tell me what all you saw," he says evenly.

 

"I-I was just coming back with a group of men from a hunt.  We saw the smoke from the river a-and we ran as fast we could," the man heavily breathes.  "They had some of us lined up in the middle of the village and they k-killed some of us, even a few women—we couldn't do anything!  They burned everything!"

 

Taehyung stares at the limp doll clenched between Hoseok's fingers with downcast eyes.  

 

"Th-the big one," the man coughs before he quickly continues, "He came like morning fog over still water!  He looked like a ghost with yellow eyes!  C-called himself Chan!" the man rambles off as he buries his face in his dirty hands.

 

Jungkook gently grips the man by his shoulders, "Did they say where they were going next?  Did you hear anything he said?"

 

"H-he said something about King Namjoon paying for his mistakes, that he will avenge his ancestors!"

 

Jungkook silently stands to his feet after that and he walks back to his horse, his soldiers follow his movements.  Jungkook orders one of the officers to take the man back to camp to get him cleaned up and looked at by a nurse.

 

Taehyung feels sorry for the man.  There's no telling what he felt as The Sevens tortured the people of this village.

 

The loud whine of Yoongi's steed breaks the silence as he and his men make their way back into the burned-down village.  Sooyoung catches Taehyung's eye before she quickly looks away.

 

"The Sevens are headed for The Kingdom," the General informs as his horse trots over to the group. 

 

"And they are moving quickly," Jungkook irritably grunts as he mounts his horse and grabs hold of the leather lapels.  "We'll be too late to stop Chan and his men if we follow them from behind."

 

"We can stop their advances if move through this mountain pass," Yoongi says as he gestures to the large mountains behind him.  "I just sent out a scout to alert The Kingdom.  I also ordered for the rest of our men that have recovered from the last mission to travel from village to village and rescue any survivors.  We'll be flanking the Sevens from behind and catch them from the front if we move now."

 

Jungkook curtly nods in agreement before he turns his horse to face the crowd of soldiers.  The troupe isn't very large due to over half of the soldiers regrouping from the ambush, but they'll have to make do with the numbers they have at the moment.

 

"I know some of you are here involuntarily and some of you aren't," Jungkook says, doing his best to look everyone in the eyes.  "But right now your homes, your families, and The Kingdom in which you grew up in are currently at stake.  We're the only hope for The Kingdom right now.  So if you want to win this war and celebrate a victory, let's move!"

 

 

 

 

 

Sooyoung's legs are beginning to burn. 

 

She and the rest of the soldiers have been walking up the incline of the mountain for a few miles now.  She can see the billows of smoke coming from villages in the distance down below.

 

Her mind keeps going back to Taehyung.  He's way ahead of her in the crowd and Sooyoung wistfully watches him as he guides one of the horses towing a covered wagon carrying ammunition and weapons.

 

She so desperately wants to go back to the moment when Taehyung confessed to her, everything was fine then.  Neither of them was upset with each other and they could have progressed their relationship into something more if she hadn't have found that vile of the healing medicine in Taehyung's bag.

 

Sooyoung's shoulders sadly sag. 

 

She can feel the tube lightly jostle in the bag situated around her hip with every step she takes.  She knew telling Taehyung the truth would hurt him, but she feels even more hurt because Taehyung thinks she's been using him.

 

Sooyoung reclines her head back, gently cracking the bones in her neck as she massages one of her shoulders before a flaming cannon round suddenly bursts through Taehyung's wagon and flies into the air with a crackling explosion.

 

Everyone stops walking as they are startled at the unexpected sound.

 

The horse next to Taehyung rises on its hind legs in distress.  Sooyoung's eyes snap from the end of an arrow sticking out of the wagon to Taehyung's startled body as the General trots over to him.

 

"What happened?" Yoongi says with stern eyes.

 

"I-I don't know," Taehyung shrinks in on himself.

 

Before Sooyoung can even inform them that someone shot at Taehyung's wagon, Jungkook seethes as he gallops over. 

 

"You just gave away our position!" Jungkook fumes angrily.  "Now they know where we—"

 

Before Jungkook can finish reprimanding Taehyung, a wooden arrow launches itself right into Jungkook's shoulder, sending him falling off of his horse and onto the ground with a hard thud. 

 

To their left, a heavy cloud of arrows come raining down on them.  Sooyoung's mouth hangs open at the sight.  A group of dark figures holding bows and arrows stand on a high ledge above them.

 

"It's the Sevens!" a soldier shouts.

 

"Get out of range!" General Min barks at his soldiers.

 

A guttural sound comes out of Jungkook's mouth as he pulls the arrow out of his armor.  He quickly stands and guides the group to the other side of the mountain as they all dodge the onslaught of arrows coming for them.

 

Taehyung trips and falls to the ground.  He quickly rolls over to avoid getting smacked in the head with the end of a horse's sharp hoof as it runs away.

 

Sooyoung sprints for Taehyung then.  She lands in her side and skids across the grass, grabbing Taehyung's hand in the meanwhile and pulling him up with her as she begins to run.

 

"You're still as slow as the day you left your tower," Sooyoung yells over her shoulder.

 

"And it looks like you're still saving me," Taehyung yells back.

 

A spell of butterflies flutters in Sooyoung belly at the sound of Taehyung's voice.  She doesn't look back as she pulls him along, but she can hear a hint of a small smile in his voice. 

 

Maybe they have a chance of talking things out since they're on speaking terms again.  They just need to make it out of this war first.

 

Another cloud of arrows rain over them, but this time with fire.  One of the wagons carrying their ammunition explodes when a batch of arrows set it aflame.

 

Yoongi gathers a cluster of his men on the far side of the mountain as they arrange a line of cannons aiming for the small group of Sevens.  He drops from his horse and takes his place behind the artillery before he yells, "Ready, aim, fire!"

 

The cannons loudly blast off, knocking a few their enemies from the ledges.

 

"Reload!" Jungkook orders.

 

Sooyoung props a cannon into place as Taehyung lights its wick.  They both cover their ears as another round of cannons fly into the air.  Thick smoke covers the opposite side of the mountain as the cannons explode and kill off the last of the small lot of Sevens. 

 

"Wait," Yoongi calmly instructs with a raised hand.  "Hold the last cannon."

 

Jimin quickly retracts his hand holding a match from the cannon's cotton wick and the rest of the soldiers remain still with bated breath.

 

Sooyoung squints through the smoke, but her eyes widen when she makes out a figure standing behind the clearing smoke.

 

"Chan," Jungkook clenches his jaw as he recognizes the man standing on the incline meters away from them.

 

Chan sits proudly on his dark horse, his yellow eyes easy to see despite the distance between the rivaling groups on the mountain.  He rests his fingers against his mouth and a sharp whistle escapes from between his pale lips before a massive band of ghostly figures emerges from behind him. 

 

A dark shadow hangs over the Sevens as they take their positions by their leader's side.

 

Sooyoung's eyes grow wide and she feels Taehyung grab on tightly to her hand.

 

Chan sends an evil grin the soldiers standing below him before he yells down the steep incline.  "You may have escaped me last time but I don't think you'll make it out of this one alive, Officer Jeon.  Especially after you what you did to my face," he  pauses with a low snarl, "You made thingsmore personal than they already were." 

 

Jungkook remains silent as Chan unsheathes his large sword from his side.

 

"Sevens!" Chan shouts as raises his weapon in the air.  "Attack!"

 

The Sevens come racing down the incline with loud roars and overlapping chants, the dark shadow hanging over them rippling over the group as they run.

 

"Prepare to fight," General Min says steadily as he turns to mount his horse.  He draws his swords and rounds his horse to the front of the brigade.

 

The soldiers begin to ready their weapons.  Some of them look scared and reluctant, some of them look accepting as they ready themselves for battle.

 

"And if you happen to die, you'll die with honor," Jungkook adds over his shoulder as he walks forward and adjusts his helmet.  "Jimin, aim your cannon at Chan and light it when I tell you to."

 

 _There's no way he'll make the shot_ , Sooyoung thinks.

 

Even if Jimin does fire his cannon, the blast radius will only take out a few of them.

 

Sooyoung looks to the part of the mountain where the small group of Sevens stood when they were ambushed earlier.  The blasted rock there looks weak.  Another blow could send it falling to ground, it could potentially cause an avalanche, and wipe out the Sevens.

 

Sooyoung is quick of her toes.  She lunges forward, pushing Jimin out of the way, before the swipes the cannon into her arms and runs with it.

 

"Hey!" Jimin says in annoyance.

 

"Sooyoung!" Taehyung screams after her, "Come back!"

 

Sooyoung heavily stamps her feet into the ground from how hard she's running.  She adjusts the heavy weight of the cannon in her arms as she sprints straight for the army of Sevens charging right for her.  

 

"Stop!" Yoongi calls out as he rears his horse and hurriedly gallops after Sooyoung.

 

Sooyoung falls to her knees before she leans over the cannon.  She squints one eye and aims the weapon at the weak rock at the top of the mountain.

 

Taehyung moves to run after the General and Sooyoung, but Hoseok grabs a hold of his shoulders and keeps him in place.

 

"Let me go!" Taehyung thrashes against Hoseok's grip.  "They're gonna kill her!"

 

"We haven't been given orders—"

 

Jungkook unsheathes his metal sword, "Everyone, charge forward!"

 

Sooyoung reaches into the small bag situated at her waist and pulls out a pack of matches, the very matches she stole from Taehyung's tower, and strikes the tiny stick wood to flame.

 

Chan is almost right in front of her, his devilish smile growing as he raises his sword in the air.

 

General Min is the same distance from her from behind, pivoting on the side of his horse and reaching his hand out to pull Sooyoung out of the way.

 

With shaking hands, she lights the wick of the cannon and quickly covers her ears.  The cannon whizzes into the air and explodes with a deafening crack against the rock of the mountain.

 

Jungkook and his men abruptly stop at the sound, watching for what happens next.

 

The mountain cracks against the impact, sending sharp, jagged pieces of rock raining down on the Sevens.  Chan angrily looks between Sooyoung and the crumbling mountain before he swings his sword.

 

Sooyoung squeezes her eyes shut and braces herself for pain, but it never comes.  She hears the sound of hooves galloping away and the sound of a body falling by her side.

 

Yoongi lies his stomach and a painful groan escapes his mouth.

 

Sooyoung looks up the incline of the mountain and sees the Sevens getting trampled by an avalanche of heavy rocks, which is headed straight for her, General Min, and the rest of their army.

 

Chan has disappeared from the scene like he was never there.

 

"Turn around, run back!" Sooyoung yells to Jungkook and the rest as she stands to her feet.  

 

As the soldiers turn back around and begin running away from the avalanche, Jungkook surges forward on his horse to help his father and Sooyoung.

 

"Sir, we need to go.  Can you stand?" she rolls General Min to onto his back and winces at all the blood trickling from his belly.

 

"You are very reckless...but the good kind of reckless," Yoongi grunts in reply.  He shakily stands to his feet as Sooyoung holds most of his weight on the right side of her body. 

 

"Unless you want to die along with the Sevens, I suggest we run now!" Hoseok pulls Taehyung and Jimin along with him.

 

Jungkook pulls on his horse's leather lapels as he approaches Sooyoung and Yoongi and holds out his hand, "Get on!"

 

Sooyoung quickly helps the General onto Jungkook's horse before she situates herself behind him.  She wraps her arms around General Min and adds pressure to his wound to help the bleeding.

 

They all begin to cough at the dirt permeating the air from the avalanche that is currently closing in on them.  Jungkook slaps the lapels against the horse's neck as he yells for the animal to go faster.

 

Sooyoung can hear the rocks on right her back.  She spots a nook in the lower part of the mountain where the rest of the soldiers are running to and she alerts Jungkook.

 

Jungkook steers his horse in the direction of the nook and pulls the horse into the hiding place just in time before they are fatally smashed by heavy rocks.

 

Sooyoung can hear the screams of the Sevens and even some of the soldiers she's trained alongside with as they are pummeled by the rocks.  She feels guilt from starting the avalanche, but she had no choice if wanted to save the majority of her comrades.

 

The avalanche is loud and the tumbling of the rocks makes the ground beneath them violently shake.  She holds onto General Min and tightly shuts her eyes.

 

 

 

 

 

"Sooyoung—I mean, Soochung!"

 

Sooyoung whimpers and she closes in herself, trying to make herself smaller in every possible way as her ears nosily ring.

 

"Soochung!" another voice calls out to her, _that sounds like Jimin_.  "Can you hear us?"

 

Sooyoung hazily blinks her eyes open to three pairs of eyes staring right back at her.  She violently shutters before Taehyung reaches out for her and scoops her up into his arms.

 

"Hey, hey," he quietly shushes her from their seated position on the ground. 

 

"Why is it still so loud?" she winces with frantic eyes.

 

Taehyung gently rocks her from side to side and wipes dark her hair away from her face, "You're alright.  It's just the waterfall on the other side of this nook."

 

She leans up against Taehyung's chest and spots the tons of water pouring off the side of the mountain.  It sounds too similar to the avalanche, Sooyoung's breathing starts to pick up.

 

"There was a waterfall near my tower, and there were nice flowers and trees all around it," Taehyung says into the crown of her hair, trying to calm her.  "Do you remember that?"

 

Sooyoung nods as she slowly inhales and grabs for Taehyung's hand.  She's so glad Taehyung didn't die in the mess she created.

 

"Um," Jimin uncomfortably clears his throat from the side.  "Is there something going on between you two?"

 

Taehyung and Sooyoung jump Jimin's voice, completely forgetting their surroundings, before they quickly separate from each other.

 

Sooyoung awkwardly clears her throat, changing the subject.  "How is General Min?" she asks as she runs her hand through her hair.  She notices that her hair hangs at her shoulders, her bun must have come undone during the avalanche.

 

"We had him taken to back to camp a few minutes ago," Hoseok informs her. "We're just recouping right now before we go—"

 

"Park Soo _chung_ ," Jungkook sternly speaks up.

 

All of the soldiers around them stop talking in favor of looking to their Lieutenant General.  Sooyoung, Taehyung, Hoseok, and Jimin all tilt their heads in worry as they look at Jungkook.

 

"What you did today was impulsive and rash!"

 

Sooyoung hangs her head and gnaws on her lower lip.  She knows she's about to get reprimanded for stealing that cannon and using it inappropriately, even the General got hurt because of her.

 

Jungkook sighs as he kneels down on one knee, "But what you did today was also very...honorable."  A small smile begins to spread across his lips, "Even though we lost some good men, most of us survived because of you.  We all owe you our lives."

 

Sooyoung turns bashful at the unexpected compliment. The last thing she wants is all the praise for taking out the Sevens, but she is thankful she was able to save her fellow comrades.

 

Suddenly, a few rocks shuffle on the other side of the nook where the avalanche was and everyone snaps their heads to the sound.

 

Jungkook abruptly stands with furrowed eyebrows, "What was that?"

 

A lone metal canister is thrown to Jungkook's feet and an explosion of smoke begins to fill the nook.

 

"Everyone take cover!"

 

The canister explodes as sparks shoot out of it.  Sooyoung violently coughs at the smoke trying to enter her lungs and she squints through the fog and bright sparks.  She faintly sees a pair of striking yellow eyes through the smoke making their way past her and towards Jungkook.

 

The figure, Chan, she realizes, tackles Jungkook to the ground and straddles his body as he unsheathes his sword.  He lifts it above his head and loudly cries, "This is for my people!"

 

Before Chan can bring his sword down, Sooyoung quickly gets to her feet and bolts for the leader of the Sevens.  When she is just a few feet away from him, Chan senses her and slices his sword right through her armor.

 

Sooyoung's face shrinks in pain as she cups her stomach with her arm and she falls to the ground.  She can weakly hear Taehyung cry after her, but all of her senses are focused the sharp pain shooting across her abdomen.

 

While Chan is distracted, Jungkook reaches for a jagged rock at his side and smashes it on Chan's temple.  Chan groans at the impact and Jungkook pulls a small knife out of the front of his utility belt before he jams it into Chan's throat. 

 

Chan chokes on the sudden intrusion and collapses to the ground with a hard thud.  Thick blood gushes from his neck and onto the floor as Hoseok stands and runs over to Jungkook to drag him from underneath Chan's heavy legs.

 

"Lieutenant General!  Are you okay?" Hoseok hurriedly asks as he kneels at Jungkook's side.

 

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jungkook breathes from the ground before he looks up at Hoseok.  "Thanks." 

 

The smoke finally clears from the small space and Taehyung loosens his tight hold on the body next to him.  He blinks the fog from his eyes and looks over, "Sooyoung, are you alright?"

 

"Who's Sooyoung?" Jimin suddenly asks.  "And you can let go of me now."

 

"Hey, we have a wounded soldier over here!"

 

Taehyung flinches away from Jimin and he snaps his head up, his eyes landing on Sooyoung's body slumped against the wall.  Blood is staining her uniform and her face is starting to go pale.

 

_No, no, no, no!_

 

Taehyung and Jungkook both run over to Sooyoung and they drop to their knees as a few soldiers gather behind them.

 

Jungkook's eyes widen at Sooyoung's fatal state.  "We need to get her to a doctor," he says over Taehyung's shoulder.

 

Taehyung warily takes off his helmet, "There's no time!"

 

"T-Tae," Sooyoung thickly coughs up a bit of blood and tries to sit up as she looks Taehyung in the eyes, "I-It hurts, it hurts."

 

"I know, I know, baby.  I'm so sorry, just lemme—" he shushes her as he carefully takes off her upper-body armor.  He doesn't take time to notice the term of endearment that slipped from his mouth when he sees the dark blood soaking through Sooyoung's shirt.  Taehyung hurriedly moves to take down the braids from his hair, "Everything's going to be alright, okay?"

 

Sooyoung weakly pushes Taehyung's long hair away from her wound, "No, Taehyung.  Y-you can't!"

 

"It'll be just like when I healed your hand in the forest," Taehyung reasons as he pulls Sooyoung's hand away.  "You just gotta trust me, Sooyoung, please."

 

"N-no, it won't be like the forest," Sooyoung tries to explain as she slumps further onto the floor.  "You could die if you heal me this time!"

 

"I'm not going to let you die here," Taehyung looks deeply into Sooyoung's eyes before he places his a hand on the side of her neck and softly caresses the skin there with the pad of his thumb. 

 

He doesn't care if he has to die in order to save her.  Sooyoung someone worth dying for.

 

"One of us has to keep living," Taehyung whispers as he weakly smiles.  "You have to experience all the good things the world has in store for the both of us since I won't be able to."

 

Sooyoung places her hand over his as a tear runs down her cheek, "But nothing in this world is good without you."

 

"Taehyung," Jungkook starts as Sooyoung's eyes flutter closed.

 

"No, I-I can heal her!" Taehyung says as he places his hair over her wound.  His thick red hair soaks up the dark blood leaking from Sooyoung's abdomen.  Taehyung takes one of Sooyoung's limp hands into his own as he begins to sing, "Tresses gleam and glow."

 

Jungkook shifts forward with confusion lacing his features, "What are you doing—"

 

"L-let you power shine," Taehyung continues to sing the lullaby as his red roots catch with a pink fire.  The fire licks down his neck, illuminating a soft light along either side of his jaw before it travels down his back and calmly glows over his body. 

 

Gasps fall from a few soldiers' lips as the pink glow from Taehyung's hair fills the small space.  He watches as the hair that is resting on the floor grows in color.

 

"Heal what has been hurt, stitch and sew what's harmed," Taehyung squeezes Sooyoung's hand, hoping she'll feel his desperation, "Make the time rewind."

 

Tears run down his face and his voice comes out brokenly, but he keeps singing as the hair lying on top of Sooyoung begins to grow in color.

 

"Bring back the dream I've lost...  The dream I've lost," Taehyung whispers the changed lyrics as he lifts Sooyoung's hand and presses the tips of her fingers to his lips.  He can feel his body growing weaker by the end of the lullaby. 

 

Taehyung closes his tear-filled eyes and softly kisses the inside of Sooyoung's palm before he faints.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**PART VII: I SEE THE LIGHT**

 

Taehyung violently startles awake.  He chokes and coughs a handful of dry air out of his lungs.  He firmly grips onto the thick blanket covering his body until his knuckles turn white.

 

"Woah, there, there.  Just breathe," Hoseok says as he helps Taehyung sit up and soothingly claps his large hand over Taehyung's back.  Hoseok turns to the opening of the tent as he reaches over to hand Taehyung a canteen of water, "Hey!  He's awake!"

 

Taehyung chugs the water down and deeply inhales through his nose as he takes in his surroundings.  He's at the campsite he trained in.  He can tell that it's nighttime.  The lantern in the tent glows bright and the covers he is lying under is keeping him warm.  The fact he is back here sends a sensation of familiarity through him.

 

Speaking of familiar—

 

"W-where's Sooyoung?" he tries to say, but his throat burns like he hasn't talked in a long time.

 

"Taehyung," Jungkook says as he enters the tent with Jimin hot on his heels.  He looks relieved to see Taehyung awake.  "You've been asleep for quite a while."

 

Taehyung looks between Hoseok and Jungkook in question before he asks, "How long was I gone?"

 

"Just over two days," Jungkook responds.

 

Taehyung's mouth runs dry at that, "And what about Sooyoung?  I-Is she okay?  Where is she?"

 

General Min suddenly comes into the room with Sooyoung and Jimin in tow as Hoseok stands to join Jimin at his side.  Taehyung's eyes brighten at the sight of her.  There's a slight glow to her skin and she looks a little younger.

 

"Tae," Sooyoung softly cries as she runs to sit on the edge of the bed and she wraps her arms around him.  She buries her face in the crook of neck and Taehyung holds her even tighter.

 

Taehyung freezes at his actions and his eyes snap to the General.

 

Yoongi looks to Taehyung with hard eyes just for a moment before he simply says, "The both of you are crazy."

 

"Who would've imagined a woman in the army," Hoseok chirps loudly.  "I can't deny she fought better than all of us combined."

 

"I second that," Jimin coyly grins from Hoseok's side.

 

Sooyoung lets go of Taehyung and sheepishly tucks her hair behind one of her ears.  Taehyung looks the Lieutenant General in question.

 

"Don't worry, I told him everything," Jungkook says as he crosses his arms over his chest.  "More like  _forced_ , but—"

 

"I would have done the same if I was in Jungkook's place, and even though it is against the law, I'll let it slide," the Yoongi says as he clasps a hand over over his son's shoulder.  "Plus, Jungkookie and I both owe Miss Sooyoung our lives.  Too bad you've taken a liking a to Mister Taehyung here or you would be the perfect woman to finally put Jungkook in his place."

 

"Dad!"

 

The tent lights up with light laughter at that.

 

Taehyung clears his throat before he seriously asks, "General Min, how are you doing?  I heard you were wounded during the battle."

 

"Oh, I'm alright," Yoongi waves him off.  "Just a flesh wound."

 

The tent grows quiet as the Yoongi takes a step deeper into the room.  He rests his hands over his hips and nods his head at Taehyung's hair, "I think we all need an explanation about that."

 

"Oh," Taehyung bashfully says as he reaches to his side and lifts a few strands of his hair into his hands. 

 

The strands are still loose from when he took down a few braids to heal Sooyoung.  He notices that his hair isn't red as it used to be.  It's turned more of a russet brown compared to the vibrant red that it was a few days ago.

 

"My hair has been like this for as long as I can remember," Taehyung distantly says as he looks down at his hair.  "My hair can heal people and turn them younger when I sing a certain song.  I-I've grown it out this long because...my dad," he takes a deep breath, "He said that if I were to cut it, my hair would lose all of its power."

 

The warmth of Sooyoung's hand finds Taehyung's, and he quickly holds on to it.

 

"So it is you," Yoongi says after a moment, his face unreadable.

 

Taehyung's thick eyebrows furrow at that, "What do you mean?"

 

"I think we should all get some sleep," the Yoongi says instead as slightly nods his head, his eyes never leaving Taehyung.  "You're meeting the King and Queen in the morning so, uh...rest up," he says as he leaves the room.

 

Jungkook, Hoseok, and Jimin follow their General out of the tent after they say their goodbyes.

 

Taehyung softly runs his thumb over Sooyoung's hand, gaining her attention.  She smiles as her eyes find his and she leans to hug him again.  He wraps his arms around her lower back and pulls her closer.

 

"I'm glad you're okay," she deeply exhales into his hair.  "I'm so sorry for everything I said.  We had a stupid fight and I didn't mean to upset you, Tae."

 

"I should be the one saying sorry," Taehyung says as he pulls back.  "I should have told you about the healing potion earlier, but everything was happening so fast and—"

 

"It's okay, really," Sooyoung tries to appease him.  "I asked General Min to send some soldiers out to look for my brother and I also got a letter from my mom yesterday.  She used the money I left for Kiwoo's treatment and she says he's getting better."

 

Taehyung smiles at the good news.  "Even though you stole that money," Sooyoung slaps his arm and he playfully winces before he continues, "You're a really good sister.  And an even better soldier," he happily adds.

 

Sooyoung tilts her head to the side and clasps her hands around Taehyung's neck, "What about a good girlfriend?"

 

Taehyung fully blushes at that and Sooyoung openly laughs at the look on his face.

 

"What—g-girlfriend?  You—" Taehyung stutters.

 

"C'mon, Taehyung," Sooyoung says with a coy smirk playing on her lips.  "Didn't you read about that in one of your books?"

 

Taehyung sputters as his eyes travel from Sooyoung's mouth and back to her eyes, "I mean, _I have_ but I don't fully understand what it means so—"

 

Sooyoung leans in and closes the distance between them, pressing her full lips against his and Taehyung swears he hears fireworks.

 

 

 

 

 

"Bow in honor of King Namjoon and Queen Solbin!"

 

Jungkook, Sooyoung, and Taehyung respectfully bow as the king and queen enter the large room.  The Kingdom's knights stand in salute as trumpets blare.

 

"Rise," the king says to his guards as he and his wife walk to the center of the room.

 

Taehyung's heart is beating so loudly through his ears that he barely hears Sooyoung whispering at him to stop breathing so hard.  Never has he imagined he would be in the presence of royalty.  It's like the stories from his childhood books are coming to life before his eyes.

 

The queen softly places a hand on Taehyung's shoulder and he flinches at the soft contact of her warm hand.

 

"You may stand now," she kindly tells them.

 

Taehyung lifts his head and gazes to the royal couple with wide eyes.  He realizes that the king and queen greatly compliment each other, and they give off an aura that seems to pull Taehyung in.

 

"I hope you have healed well, I have been itching to thank you," the king smiles widely, his dimples deepening by the second as greets the soldiers before him.  "We heard about the great deeds you have accomplished in the name of our kingdom during the last of the war.  If you hadn't have pulled that stunt you performed last night, our country would still be in the middle of a war," he chuckles lightly.

 

"Yes," the queen joins as she clasps her hands together.  "We couldn't be more grateful for what you all did," she says before she turns to Jungkook, "Lieutenant General Jeon, you lead our forces well."

 

"I am just doing my duty, Your Majesty," Jungkook slightly flushes at the compliment.

 

Sooyoung snorts under her helmet before she earns a hard side-eye from the blushing man.

 

The queen smiles before she tuts her tongue, "Those helmets must be a burden for all of you.  You may remove them, so my husband and I can properly thank you."

 

Taehyung hears Sooyoung and Jungkook undo the buckles on their helmets, so he does the same.  He's so nervous and he doesn't know why.  He doesn't even know the couple standing in front of him, but a sense of closeness is terribly itching at the back of his mind.

 

Taehyung lifts and removes the hot helmet from his head.  He feels his long, braided hair fall down his back as he wipes his damp, stray baby hairs away from his forehead.  He sees two pairs of wide eyes staring back at him before blatant recognition flashes over the king and queen's face.

 

The queen brings her hand to her mouth.  "Oh my," she gasps as tears begin to well in her eyes.

 

Taehyung turns to Sooyoung and Jungkook as he places his helmet in the crook of his elbow and hurriedly wipes his fingers over his cheeks, "Is there something on my face?"

 

"Son?" the king steps forward with hope in his eyes.

 

Taehyung furrows his eyebrows and takes a small step back.   _Son?_

 

"My God, Namjoon," the queen places a hand on her husband's shoulder.  "He looks so much like you, honey."

 

"Taehyung," Namjoon shakily says.  "You don't know how long we have been looking for you, son."

 

"W-wait," Taehyung shakes his head and takes another step back. 

 

 _How does he know my name?_  

 

He can't understand what is happening right now.

 

"What do you mean?  I already have a father," Taehyung tries to reason with them and the queen begins to cry, "H-he raised me, a-and he fed me, he combed the knots out of my hair before bed, he gave me paint—"

 

"No, that man stole you from us when you were a mere infant.  He took you because of your hair and the magic that it possesses," the king says with a hint of anger lacing his voice.  "Where is he now?  I swear I'll have him killed—"

 

"N-no!  Don't kill him, please," Taehyung says frantically.  "He just wanted to live!"

 

Even though Jin kidnapped Taehyung, he can't deny that the man was all he had growing up.

 

"Taehyung," Namjoon almost says pleadingly.  "Do you not realize that those fire lanterns were for you?"

 

_The lights were for me?_

 

He looks to the throne elegantly sitting behind the king and sees a sunrise engraved on the backrest.  He turns his head to the ceiling and sees a large sun painted around the sunroof.  He quickly looks down and sees the kingdom's emblem, a sun, encased in the glass floor beneath his feet. 

 

Taehyung sees a large portrait hanging on the wall to his left.  A younger version of the king and queen holding a smiling baby with red hair, just like his.

 

Realization hits Taehyung like a ton of bricks and he stumbles on his feet before he drops to the floor.  The king and queen quickly move to catch him and Taehyung feels warm in their embrace.

 

"My baby," his mother cries and Taehyung cries along with her as she cradles his head against her chest.  "I have missed you so much, you don't even know."

 

Taehyung's shoulders shudder as he inhales.  He breathes in his mom's soft scent and his dad's piney cologne as Namjoon tightens his long arms tenderly wrapped around his reunited family.

 

 _Can I even call them that?  Mom and Dad?_ Taehyung questions himself. 

 

He still loves his father, the one that took him away from his real parents, but Taehyung needs to accept the truth that is clinging onto him right now.

 

"You finally made it home, son," Namjoon soothingly says into the crown of Taehyung's hair.  "You can begin again with us."

 

 

 

 

 


	5. Epilogue

 

 

 

 

 

 **PART VIII: EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT**  

 

Taehyung idly sits with his chin resting in the palm of his hand, wondering how Sooyoung, her mother, and her two brothers are doing at the moment.  He contemplated on sending Sooyoung a letter to let her know how things were going for him, but he wanted to tell her everything in person.  

 

Namjoon loudly clears his throat from his side of the dining table, "Taehyung, your mother and I are speaking with you."  

 

Taehyung pulls himself out his thoughts and snaps his eyes to his parents.  "Sorry," he sheepishly says.  "I'm just...still taking everything in."  

 

His parents smile at him sadly.  

 

"We don't expect you to get acquainted so quickly," Solbin tells him.  

 

Taehyung slightly blanches at their reaction.  "I-I didn't mean that in a bad way!  It's just that," he pauses to put his fork down, "Everything changed so fast and everything is different now.  Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I know the truth now, but this is just—"  

 

"Just wasn't what you were expecting," Namjoon calmly finishes for him.  "It's understandable, Taehyung.  You were raised by some else for the last seventeen years, and then being catapulted into a different life—a life way more different than the one you were previously living—can be very overwhelming."  

 

Taehyung sighs and slowly nods, agreeing with what his father is saying.  "I-I don't know how to be a prince," he honestly explains as he sits back in his chair.  "I've read so much about the Kingdom's history thinking it was all just fictional stories as I grew up.  No matter how much information I can recall, I can't put them into practice.  It's all so foreign, and I feel like I'm letting you and the Kingdom down."

 

Taehyung thinks back to the crowning ceremony he had to participate in yesterday.  He rehearsed every stop and procedure for the ceremony for days, but he ended up tripping over his robe and stuttering whenever he had to repeat whatever the priest said.  

 

General Min and Jungkook were in attendance, but their consoling looks to Taehyung just weren't comforting enough him.  

 

Solbin places her hand over Taehyung's and sends him a comforting smile.  "That's why we're taking our time.  There's no rush for you to become a king like your father," she lightly laughs.  "We just want you to grow accustomed to the life you are destined to live, honey."

 

Namjoon is quick to nod in agreement.  

 

"And no, that doesn't mean you have to wear the most lavish clothes or eat like a pig," Solbin playfully directs her eyes to Namjoon before she turns back to her son, "We just want you right where you should have been from start, by our side."

 

Taehyung reflects on his mother's words.  He may have lived a life that wasn't meant for him, but that doesn't he can't get used to this new one.  He knows his parents still miss him even when he's sitting right in front of them.  He can see it in their eyes.   

 

He knows they notice when he's not fully paying attention.  Taehyung is partially stuck in the mindset of how he lived back in the tower.  He pulls himself out of his sleeping state in the morning in hopes of Jin calling for him to come down and eat breakfast only to wake up to an overly-large bed in an overly-large room.  

 

Taehyung feels wrong if he lets himself miss the man he grew up with, but he also knows that he was a child at the time and he didn't know what was going on.  Taehyung's been going to a therapist since the first week of his return, telling the counselor more than he can probably tell his parents at the moment.  

 

His parents have been paying attention to him, though.  They check in on him when he spends the majority of the day reading books in their vast library, they pick up his habits and hobbies, and they keep Taehyung's paint shelf stocked with the latest vibrant colors so he never has to worry about running out.   

 

They love the fact that his favorite color is yellow, specifically the kind of yellow that they use for the Kingdom's emblem.  

 

"How about this," Solbin tapes his hand.  "How about you go to your lesson, then go out and get some air," she offers as she gestures for the butlers to come and take away their empty plates.  "And alone this time," she glares at Namjoon as he says  _he needs someone watching him_.  "Don't worry about the guards following you, just get out of here and stretch your legs."  

 

Taehyung eagerly nods at that.  He's ventured out of his new home plenty of times, he's just never explored the the city due to the restriction of his watchful guards and his protective parents.  

 

"Go as far as the border, I can tell you're itching to go and see something _or someone_ ," his mother says as she places her cloth handkerchief on the table and stands.  "Maybe go meet that girl you've been trying to write to," she winks.  

 

"Girl?  What girl?" Namjoon's eyebrows touch the ceiling.  

 

"You saw my letters?" Taehyung blushes.  

 

"The girl that we dismissed from the penalty of stealing royal property because she ended the war and saved Taehyung," Solbin informs Namjoon.  "You seem to always keep them on you, but you never notice when one or two of those sweet letters fall out of your pockets," she tells Taehyung.  

 

Namjoon looks between his wife and his son, still not getting it.  

 

"Your son  _likes_  a girl, Namjoon, get with the program!"

 

Namjoon turns to Taehyung then, putting on a serious face.  "Son, before you pursue this woman, I think we should have a talk—"  

 

"You know what, I'll go to my lesson now and then take that walk afterwards," Taehyung scoots his chair back and abruptly stands.  Taehyung has suffered through a puberty talk with Jin, there's no way he's doing it again with his real father.  "Don't worry, I'll be back before the party tonight!" and he makes his escape through the dining room's doors.

        

 

 

 

 

 _Knock, knock, knock!_  

 

"I'm coming!" Sooyoung yells from the kitchen.  She's in the middle of washing dishes and her hands are soaking wet. 

 

It was Kiwoo's turn to do dishes today, but her mother scolded her for not doing laundry late earlier in the day.  The last thing Sooyoung wanted to do is the dishes when she planned on going to the palace today.  

 

She's been periodically visiting the palace for the last month, just trying to get a glimpse of Taehyung from outside of the large building.  She hasn't even gotten a letter from him and the lack of information is driving her crazy.    

 

 

_"They haven't seen their son in seventeen years, Sooyoung," Hoseok tells her one night when she meets up with him and Jimin after one of their patrol shifts.  "Just give them time."_

 

_"I'm sure he'll get in contact with you when he can," Jimin tries to assure her._

 

 

Another set of knocks wrap against the door and Sooyoung huffs in frustration.  "I said I'm coming!"

 

Kiwoo's footsteps are heard as he bounds down the stairs and runs past Sooyoung before he swings the door open.  

 

"Hello," Jungkook's voice faintly sounds from the front door of their house and Sooyoung stills her movements, "Is Park Sooyoung here by chance?"  

 

"Yeah, she is," Kiwoo happily chirps.  "But be careful, she just got in trouble with mom and she doesn't like to talk when she's mad."  

 

"She's still the same," Jungkook openly chuckles.

 

Sooyoung rolls her eyes and quickly dries her hands off.  She maneuvers her little brother out of the doorway and closes the door behind her, making Jungkook step down the stairs leading into Sooyoung's home.  

 

"Have you heard anything?" is the first thing she asks as she crosses her arms over her chest.  

 

"From Kinam or Taehyung?" Jungkook questions back. 

 

"Both."  

 

"It's been a month, Sooyoung...  And we still haven't found your brother," he shakes his head.  "Just know we're trying our best."  

 

Jungkook has shown Sooyoung her brother's name on the military records, but he and another soldier seemed to have disappeared the day before Sooyoung and Taehyung arrived at the army's campsite.  

 

"Okay," Sooyoung deeply inhales and exhales in disappointment before she continues.  "What about from Tae?"  

 

"I actually have a letter from the Palace," Jungkook tells her as he takes a golden envelope from his satchel and hands it to her.  "It might be from him."  

 

With shaking hands, Sooyoung takes the envelope from the man's hands and holds it between her fingers.   _Finally_ , she thinks.  

 

"I wanted to personally hand-deliver it to you," Jungkook says with a sincere grin.  "Just so I could check in on you and your family, too."  

 

"Thank you," Sooyoung smiles back at him as she moves to open the door to her house.  "And for the letter, too," she gestures towards the paper in her hands.  

 

Jungkook simply bows before he turns and walks away, joining a few soldiers waiting for him at the end of the street.  

 

Sooyoung closes the door behind her and she rushes to her room, forgetting the pile dishes in the sink before she closes the door and flops down on her bed.

 

Sooyoung carefully tears the sun-shaped seal off the front of the envelope before she slips the letter out.  She opens the folded paper and her eyes grow wide in surprise.  

 

 _You have been cordially invited to The Palace—_  

 

Sooyoung slaps one hand over the paper and the other cups her wide-open mouth.  All she wanted was a simple  _'hey, how are you?'_  from Taehyung, she wasn't expecting a formal letter.

 

She slides her hand off the paper and hesitantly eyes the letter again.  

 

_—to share in the celebration of Prince Kim Taehyung's crowning on Saturday, December 1st at 7 p.m. in The Sunset Hall. All are wanted to in attendance so long as they wear the appropriate attire for the event._

_~King Kim Namjoon & Queen Solbin_  

 

"That's tonight!" Sooyoung says aloud.  She looks at the clock in her room.  It reads just after 4 o'clock.  She has three hours to get herself ready.

 

Sooyoung rises from her bed and runs a hand through her hair.  She looks to the gold envelope innocently lying on her bed before she picks up it up again and finds a small letter inside.  

 

_This is Taehyungie's mom !! (heart)_

_Taehyung doesn't know you're coming because we want you to surprise him!_  

 

Sooyoung almost screams at the sight of Queen Solbin's handwriting.  

 

_I will have guards sent to your home at 5 p.m. to escort you to the Kingdom.  And don't worry about finding a dress, I already have one picked out for you._

 

At that, Sooyoung screams aloud this time.  

 

"Yah!  Why are you screaming?" Her mother calls down the hall.  "Have you finished washing dishes?"

 

Sooyoung shakes her head. 

 

She has no idea how she's going to tell her mother that she has not only not done all of her chores yet but also the fact that she's been invited the Kingdom by the King and Queen themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

Taehyung bursts through the side door leading to the large courtyard of his home.  His lesson took longer than usual, and now he has less than an hour to himself.  The sun is beginning to set as he makes his way down the steps and into the city surrounding the Palace.

 

The Palace guards bow to him as he exits the gates and Taehyung sighs in relief when they don't move to follow after him.  He hopes he can see Sooyoung today since no one is watching over him or telling him where he can or can't go. 

 

He breathes in the brisk air just as he notices that he forgot to put on a winter jacket.  He shrugs his shoulders as he bounds down more steps that lead to the center of the city.  Taehyung decides he won't be out for too long so that he doesn't risk catching a cold.

 

He politely bows and sends small smiles to the common people that fill the streets as he walks.  Taehyung's still not used to people stopping whatever they're doing just to watch him with curious eyes, he doesn't think he ever will be.

 

Taehyung takes long strides to the edge of the city, remembering that Sooyoung lives near the wide pastures and barns that line the border of the thick forest.  He walks along the lining of the fence, ghosting his hands over the softwood as he scans his eyes over the barns.

 

He swore he saw Sooyoung working outside one of the sheds the other day when he was touring the countryside of the Kingdom.

 

"Taehyung," Jimin calls.  He jogs over to Taehyung with a grin, the gold detailing of his guard uniform catching the light of the lantern he's holding.

 

"Jimin," Taehyung greets the soldier with a smile.  "I thought you were stationed in Gwanju?"

 

"I requested to work here instead," Jimin shakes his head.  "Besides, there's a lot more action here than in my small village," he lightly chuckles.

 

"Oh, is Hoseok here, too?"

 

Jimin hums in confirmation before he throws his head back with a loud laugh.  "He actually has a thing for one of the ladies that work in pastures here."

 

Taehyung laughs along with Jimin, but the prince is genuinely happy that Hoseok has found someone special.

 

"If you don't mind me asking," Jimin speaks up.  "What are you doing out here?  Isn't there a party being thrown in your honor at the Palace tonight?"

 

"Yeah, there is," Taehyung slowly nods.  "But I just wanted to see if Sooyoung was out here—but I guess she isn't…"

 

"I actually just walked by her home a few minutes ago, but the house was completely dark and it seemed like no one was home."

 

Taehyung runs a frustrated hand through his red fringe.  He really wanted to use the freedom he was given today to see Sooyoung.

 

"I wish I could help you find her, but I have to continue my patrol," Jimin says, his mouth casting a small frown as he begins to walk away from Taehyung.  "Sooyoung's been talking and wondering nonstop about you, Taehyung," Jimin calls over his back.  "Just know the feeling's still mutual between you two," he says before he begins to whistle a soft tune to himself.

 

Taehyung should be happy with that information, but he wishes he could hear Sooyoung tell him that.

 

Taehyung looks up to the sky and watches the last of the sun disappear behind the trees.  He hears the tale-tell sound of his guards' footsteps approaching him and Taehyung's shoulders fall in disappointment.

 

 

 

 

 

Sooyoung stands there, staring at herself in the mirror like she's staring at a complete stranger.  She knows it's her in the reflection, but she usually doesn't look like... _this_.

 

Sooyoung wears a dress that's almost as dark as the night sky.  The top of the dress runs over her shoulders, revealing her collarbones as its long sleeves cover her arms.  A soft, off-white wool shawl hangs loosely across her back.  She quickly denied the heels she was supposed to wear when the maids presented to her before opting for the fancy slippers sitting near her feet.

 

Sooyoung's makeup is done delicately and simply, only enhancing her natural features although she is wearing a red tint on her lips.  Her shoulder-length [hair](https://78.media.tumblr.com/a3b7ead5a5f5e13aa005f4e677ca38a5/tumblr_p5r0vnpJpI1whjw8go2_400.gif) is straight with a defined part near the middle of her head.  She so badly wants to run her hand through it and let fall every which way like it usually does, but she doesn't want to ruin Taehyung's mother's hard work.

 

Solbin's fingers softly wrap around Sooyoung's arms as she moves to stand behind the younger.  "Gorgeous," she says gingerly with a wide small.  "Taehyung's jaw is going to fall to the floor when he sees you."

 

Sooyoung glances herself once more before she nimbly nods, trying to mask the anxious wreck she's slowly becoming.  Butterflies flutter in her stomach at the thought of seeing Taehyung in a matter of minutes.

 

A maid knocks on the door then, announcing that the party has already started, and nervous goosebumps run over Sooyoung's skin.

 

Solbin quietly squeals as she squeezes Sooyoung's arms in excitement.  "Don't worry, we'll go down there together.  I wouldn't leave you hanging, especially seeing how nervous you are right now."

 

"T-Thank you," Sooyoung breathes.

 

There's no way she could face a crowd of expensively-dressed strangers _and Taehyung_ by herself.

 

 

 

 

 

"Jesus Christ, Taehyung," Jungkook places his empty wine glass on a passing waiter's tray before he elbows the prince in the ribs to get his attention.  "I know all you're thinking about is Sooyoung right now, but could you please at least _act_ like you're present at your own party."

 

Taehyung was quick to find the Lieutenant General standing at the far side of the ballroom a few minutes after the party started.  There are so many unfamiliar faces at the party, and Jungkook's presence is the only thing keeping him from bolting out of the room.

 

"I'm sorry," Taehyung whines as he rubs at his now tender side.  "I just—I can't stop thinking about her.  I really wanted to see her today."

 

Jungkook sadly looks to Taehyung then.  He knows both Taehyung and Sooyoung miss each other a lot.

 

"Queen Solbin, accompanied by Lady Park Sooyoung, is now entering the room," a guard suddenly announces.

 

 _Lady Park Sooyoung?_ Taehyung thinks.

 

Taehyung snaps his head to the large stairs on the other side of the room where he finds his mother with her hand curled around the crook of Sooyoung's arm as they walk down the stairs.

 

Taehyung's mouth literally hangs as he takes in Sooyoung's form.  Seeing Sooyoung in an armored suit is way different from seeing her in a flattering dress.

 

Solbin holds onto Sooyoung's hand before she leaves to find her husband.  A maid politely takes the shawl hanging on Sooyoung's shoulders before she bows and steps away.

 

Taehyung lets his feet take the lead as he makes his way through the crowd, easily forgetting Jungkook's presence.  He stops just before Sooyoung with bated breath.  Taehyung opens his mouth to say something, _anything_ , but he can't.

 

He thinks she's the most beautiful woman in the room.

 

"Oh, um…  Thanks, Tae," Sooyoung quietly says as she smooths her hair behind one of her ears.

 

"Oh, I said that out loud," Taehyung says distantly. 

 

His chest blossoms in warmth at the way his nickname falls from Sooyoung's lips.  His eyes rake over the fair skin of her shoulders and up to the column of her neck and then to her mouth.  It's been a month since they last kissed—

 

"I don't remember you being this bold," Sooyoung remarks, catching Taehyung's eyes with a small grin.

 

"Sorry," Taehyung bashfully says before he clears his throat and looks her in the eyes. He's not sorry for staring at her lips though.  "It's…  It's been a while."

 

Sooyoung looks just the same to him, only she's not wearing a baggy training uniform.

 

"It's been a while," Sooyoung shyly repeats.

 

Jungkook smiles as he watches the reunion of his friends. 

 

The crowd in the room goes back to their own conversations, eating hors d'oeuvres as they continue enjoying the party.

 

Jungkook spots another waiter carrying glasses of wine and right as he reaches for a glass, slim fingers brush over his.  He quickly takes his hand back as he turns to see a woman shyly bowing to him.

 

"My apologies, Lieutenant General."

 

"Oh, um.  No, it's alright," Jungkook stammers.  He can't deny the woman is very pretty.

 

The Lieutenant General spots his father a few feet away from him, sending him a hard look that's telling Jungkook to continue talking to the girl. 

 

His father never fails to remind Jungkook at that he wants his son to settle down. Maybe Jungkook needs to start listening to his father for a change.

 

Jungkook holds out his hand in greeting before he takes the woman's hand in his, "I don't think we've met before, miss..."

 

"Kim Yeri.  I'm a distant cousin of Prince Taehyung," the woman gracefully supplies, her white pearls on a great display as she bobs a curtsy to him.  "I hear you saved the Kingdom during the war."  

 

"It wasn't all me," Jungkook lightly chuckles as he releases Yeri hand.  "I had the help of my fellow comrades." 

 

He can feel himself blushing, the heat under his collar gives it away.  Jungkook hates the way he easily falls subject to compliments, especially compliments from women.

 

"Humble and easy to rile up," Yeri playfully remarks, a sly grin creeping her lips.  "Surprising combination for a decorated soldier."

 

They stand there, gazing at each other as the music begins playing from the corner of the room. 

 

 _It's either now or never, Jungkook_ , the soldier tells himself.

 

"Would you like to dance?"

 

Taehyung then holds out his hand for Sooyoung to take.

 

"Of course."  Sooyoung nods her head with a bright smile before she slips her hand into his.

 

Namjoon sports a proud, fatherly grin from the sidelines as Taehyung and Sooyoung move to the middle of the room.  He's glad to see his son finally smiling.

 

"It's bittersweet, isn't it," Solbin says as she wraps her hands around Namjoon's bicep and leans her head on his shoulder.  "We just got him back and he still dares to grow up before our eyes."

 

Namjoon wraps his large hand over his wife's smaller ones and gives them a light squeeze.  He wants to stay in this moment too, but he knows Taehyung will start a life of his own soon with someone that is dear to him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 **PART IX: NOW THAT I SEE YOU**  

 

"Sooyoung, I…  I think I want to cut it."

 

Taehyung sits in front of a large vanity in his room, staring at himself in the mirror.  A pair of metal scissors sits before him and his long hair lies in a pile on the floor.

 

Jin sits down in the sand, the wet tide foaming just at his feet.  He pulls his legs up to his chest and wraps his arms around his knees before he deeply sighs.  A cough rattles through his old lungs, and his bones ache with age.

 

Sooyoung is there standing behind Taehyung.  She meets his gaze in the reflection, but remains quiet.

 

Taehyung thinks he's ready to let this part of him go. 

 

His hair has always given him a sense of identity, but now that he's living the life he's supposed to be living, he no longer feels the need to keep the magic in his hair.  He has his parents, his friends, and most importantly, Sooyoung who give him a new meaning to his life.  Taehyung no longer needs his hair to define him.

 

Taehyung reaches for the scissors, but Sooyoung grabs the shears before he can.

 

"Are you sure," Sooyoung says more like a statement than a question with furrowed eyebrows, but understanding laces her face.

 

Jin has no more meaning in his life.  Although he wrongfully took Taehyung away from his birth parents for his magic, he fell in love with a bright little boy.  The only regret Jin has is selfishly using Taehyung for his own motives.

 

Taehyung thickly swallows before he nods.

 

"I'll…  I'll do it for you," Sooyoung tells him, her grip tight around the metal.  She takes his smooth hair one her hand and brings the scissors forward with the other.

 

Sooyoung looks to Taehyung one last time before he sadly smiles at her.  Sooyoung gathers Taehyung's hair into a ponytail at the base of his neck with her fist before she begins to snip away at the thick hair.

 

A black cloak limply lies in the sand as a pile of ashes is swallowed by the gentle tide.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_**A few years later** _

 

"You wanna go for a walk?" Taehyung asks Sooyoung one night after having dinner with his parents.

 

 

 

The gentle keys of a piano begin to play from a small restaurant across the street and the couple turns their heads to listen to the warm sound.  

 

Taehyung looks to Sooyoung then, silently asking her for permission to dance with her, and she lightly grins before she nods and slides her hand in Taehyung's. 

 

She wants to comment on the fact that it might look a little weird to be dancing in the middle of the street at night, but she doesn't because Taehyung is always doing things like this with her.   

 

No words are exchanged while they sway to the music, just intimate stares, and soft smiles.   

 

Sooyoung lets out a surprised laugh when Taehyung suddenly twirls her under his arm.  He pulls Sooyoung flush against his chest by her hand and Sooyoung's other hand moves to rest on his shoulder and she looks up at him with sincere eyes.   

 

Taehyung rests his hand at the small of Sooyoung's back before they resume to leisurely sway from side to side in a slow circle.  

 

Sooyoung lets go of Taehyung's hand in order to wrap her arms around his neck and rest her head against his chest.  "This is nice," she hums as she closes her eyes.  

 

Taehyung circles both of his arms around her back and he holds her even closer as he rests his cheek atop of her hair.  "Are you sleepy?"  

 

"No, you're just really cozy."  

 

Taehyung lightly snorts at that and kisses the crown of Sooyoung's head.  Fall has just begun, giving the air a bit of a chill.  The pianist plays the last few notes of the song and Taehyung pulls back to look Sooyoung in the face. 

 

Before she can pout at the loss of his warmth, he says, "C'mon.  I wanna show you something."  

 

He guides her away from the filtered lights of the town and down to the docks where a few boats are silently anchored.  The water is still and the murmured  _ribbit-ribbits_ of frogs can be heard in the distance.  

 

"Tae, we've been here before," Sooyoung pouts behind the taller man as they walk along the pier.  "What's so special about this place?"  

 

Taehyung holds out his elbow and lets Sooyoung slip her hand in the crook of his arm.  He rests his free hand against the wooden railing and breathes in the fall air, "This is the place you took me to see the lights.  We haven't been here since that night and I just wanted to come back and see it from a different perspective."  

 

"Oh," Sooyoung says, lightly squeezing his bicep in apology.  "All I remember from that night is getting arrested by Jungkook," she jokes.   

 

Taehyung chuckles at the memory.  

 

" _Your daughter is a wanted woman!_ " Sooyoung makes a silly face as she mimics Jungkook's gruff voice.  " _Cuff him, too!  He might an accomplice!_ "

 

Taehyung laughs even harder at that.  "That was definitely a night to remember."

 

Sooyoung gets the last of her giggles out before she rests her head against Taehyung's shoulder.  "I also remember taking a little boat out to the middle of the water and lighting our lantern to send into the sky...  The life you were looking for was right at your fingertips all this time, but you couldn't touch it until years later."  

 

Taehyung slowly nods his at the realization.  He didn't have a bad life when he was living in the tower, he just didn't get to experience the childhood he could've had with his real parents. 

 

Taehyung isn't as bitter as he was about it before.  He forgave Jin a long time ago.

 

Taehyung removes his hand from the railing and places it over Sooyoung's hand that's holding onto his arm.  "That night seems like a lifetime ago, but it's only been four years," he says. 

 

"And despite the rollercoaster of events that happened after that day, I think the way we met was in good timing."  

 

"I think so, too," Taehyung smiles.  

 

"Oh.  I seemed to have lost one of my earrings," Sooyoung says as runs her fingers over her ear.  She pulls away from Taehyung and looks around her feet, "It must have fallen through the cracks.  Aw, Tae, you got me these expensive earrings and I already lost one."  

 

"It's alright," he tells her as he slips a hand into one of his pockets.  "I can get you another pair if you want."  

 

"No, it's okay," Sooyoung sighs and she tucks her hair behind her ears.  She turns around and squats down to peek through cracks of the wooden boardwalk.  She tuts her tongue in disappointment before she stands and turns back to Taehyung, "And you know I don't like it when you spend too much money on me—Tae..."  

 

Taehyung is there, kneeling on one knee as he looks up at Sooyoung.  He shakily breathes in through his nose before he opens his mouth. 

 

"Sooyoung...  I-I've been thinking about this for a while—well, actually since I was a child—but now I know for sure."  

 

He takes his hand out of his pocket and he pulls a small box along with it.  Sooyoung slowly drops to her knees in front of him, her eyes filling with tears.  

 

"I actually had a lot to say, I even had my dad help me put together a speech for you, but I honestly forgot all of it," Taehyung nervously chuckles.  "So Sooyoung," he says more confidently as opens the box.  He takes the ring from the cushion and holds it between him and Sooyoung.  "You know that I love you and I know that you love me—well, at least I  _think_  you do—"  

 

"Of course I do, you idiot," Sooyoung wetly laughs as she smacks his arm.  

 

"Will you marry me?" Taehyung sincerely asks.  He barely hears the small ' _yes_ ' that comes out of Sooyoung's mouth as he slips the down ring her finger.  

 

Sooyoung leans forward and grabs Taehyung by the collar of his coat, happily pressing her lips to his.  Her fingers lightly tangle into his short dark hair as they breathe each other in.  

 

Their quick pecks turn into long, languid kisses before Taehyung pulls back and hugs her close to him.  

 

"I'm really glad you said yes," Taehyung breathes, a wide smile tainting his deep voice.  "Because I would have been really sad if you said no."  

 

Sooyoung playfully hits Taehyung's back as she tucks her cold nose into the crook of his warm neck.  "I have no reason to tell you no, Tae."

 

"Looks like you're taking my night shifts for the next three days, Jimin," Hoseok chirps as he, Jimin, and Jungkook are gathered behind an easel stand further down the dock, watching an artist paint delicate strokes that mimic the scene of the proposal before them.

 

"I'm only doing this so you can spend time with your new girlfriend, _loverboy_ ," Jimin mocks.

 

"I bet two months of morning patrol shifts that they'll get pregnant by next year," Jungkook cheekily gambles.

 

"You're on," Jimin and Hoseok challenge together.

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope enjoyed!
> 
> If you have time, you should check out the other story I'm currently writing [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15607419)!
> 
>  
> 
> See you in the next story~


	6. Update !!

 

 

 

 

 

Hello !! The prequel to this story has its first chapter up right [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17293295/chapters/41282123), so please give it some love if you enjoyed this universe~

 

 

 


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